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SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

IN  THE 
AMERICAN  WAR  FOR  INDEPENDENCE 

(1776-1783) 


From  Yorktown's  ruins,  ranked  and  still, 
Two  lines  stretch  far  o'er  vale  and  hill: 
Who  curbs  his  steed  at  head  of  one  ? 
Hark !  the  low  murmur :  WASHINGTON  ! 
Who  bends  his  keen  approving  glance 
Where  down  the  gorgeous  line  of  France 
Shine  knightly  star  and  plume  of  snow  ? 
Thou  too  art  victor,  ROCHAMBEAU  ! 

— WUttier. 


GENERAL  COUNT  DE  ROCHAMBEAU. 

After  the  painting  by  Trumbull,  in  the  picture  of  "The  Surrender  of  Yorktown."  This 
portrait  was  posed  for  in  1787,  in  Paris,  at  the  home  of  Jefferson,  then  Minister  of  the 
United  States  to  France. 


Soldiers  and  Sailors  of  France 

in  the 
American  War  for  Independence 

(1776-1783) 


BY 

CAPTAIN  JOACHIM  MERLANT 

ASSISTANT  PROFESSOR  OF  THE  FACULTY  OF  LETTERS 
UNIVERSITY   OF  MONTPELLIER 


AUTHORIZED    EDITION 


TRANSLATED  FROM  THE  FRENCH  BY 

MARY    BOJS.HNELL    COLEMAN 


"  Without  good  faith,  in  politics  as  in  morals,  there  is 
no  sure  foundation,  and  he  who  ignores  it  is  a  blunderer." 
— COUNT  DE  VERGENNES. 


NEW  YORK 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 
1920 


<-  t>~ 

X>  K,\ 


COPYRIGHT,  1920,  BY 
THE  CARNEGIE  ENDOWMENT  FOR  INTERNATIONAL  PEACE 


NOTE 

This  volume  in  the  original  French  publication  was  one  in  a  series 
entitled  Bibliotheque  France-Amerique,  published  by  Alcan,  Paris. 


tn 


Q 


TO 
MONSIEUR  J.    J.    JUSSERAND 

AMBASSADOR  OF   FRANCE  TO  THE  UNITED   STATES 

AS   A   TRIBUTE 
OF    RESPECT  AND    GRATITUDE 

AND    SOUVENIR 

OF   DAYS   PASSED   IN   WASHINGTON 
IN   1916 

JOACHIM   MERLANT 


4! 5448 


AUTHOR'S  PREFACE 

From  January  6th  to  May  1 3th,  1916,  in  about  fifty 
American  cities  where  I  was  welcomed  by  the  Alliance 
Franc/aise  aux  Etats-Unis  et  au  Canada,  from  New  York 
to  San  Francisco,  from  Chicago  to  New  Orleans,  I  felt 
the  heart-beat  of  a  great  nation.  At  that  time  the  re 
public  of  Washington  had  already  begun  to  recognize 
the  fact  that  our  cause  was  the  same  as  its  cause;  its 
work  peaceful,  ours  hard  and  bloody:  namely,  to  fill 
the  world  with  more  compassion,  justice,  and  dignity. 
I  have  seen  this  country  restless,  tormented  with  the 
thought  of  its  present  happy  condition,  while  France 
and  her  allies  were  suffering  heroically.  From  sym 
pathetic  admiration  among  the  most  generous,  who  are 
usually  the  most  far-seeing,  there  were  growing  signs  of 
impatience,  and  a  strong  desire  to  come  over  and  suffer 
with  us. 

This  is  a  book  of  truth  and  friendship ;  needless  to  say, 
it  lays  no  claim  to  erudition.  I  have  simply  had  re 
course  to  memoirs,  campaign  journals,  and  correspon 
dence;  and  as  often  as  possible  to  original  documents. 
For  the  diplomatic  part  I  owe  much  to  the  voluminous 
work  of  Henri  Doniol :  Histoire  de  la  Participation  de  la 
France  a  V Etablissement  de  V  Independance  des  Etats-  Unis. 
In  a  book  of  noble  inspiration,  With  Americans  of  Past 
and  Present  Days,  by  M.  Jusserand,  I  have  found  some 
hitherto  unedited  data;  I  have  found  some  also  in  the 
vivid  descriptions  of  the  Viscount  de  Noailles:  Marins 
et  Soldats  Fran$ais  en  Amerique. 

vii 


viii  AUTHOR'S    PREFACE 

At  the  mere  mention  of  the  name  "United  States," 
M.  Alfred  Rebelliau,  of  the  Academic  des  Sciences  Morales 
et  Politiques,  curator  of  the  Bibliothegue  de  rinstitut  de 
France,  gave  me  all  the  privileges  of  these  institutions. 
To  him  as  well  as  to  M.  Deherain,  assistant  curator, 
nothing  appeared  too  difficult  when  rendering  me  as 
sistance  in  my  various  researches. 

JOACHIM  MERLANT. 

MONTPELLIER,    FRANCE, 

December,  1917. 

TRANSLATOR'S  NOTE. — Thanks  are  due  Captain  Bal- 
densperger  for  his  helpful  criticism  of  the  translation 
and  to  Mr.  Stephen  A.  Hurlbut  for  rendering  the 
French  rhymes  into  English  verse. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

AUTHOR'S  PREFACE,  CAPTAIN  JOACHIM  MERLANT.    .   .      vii 
INTRODUCTION,  CAPTAIN  FERNAND  BALDENSPERGER     .     xiii 

CHAPTER 

I.    WHY   FRANCE  SYMPATHIZED  WITH  AMERICA — 

OPINION — MINISTRY i 

II.  FRANKLIN  IN  PARIS — THE  EQUIPMENT  OF  LA 
FAYETTE'S  SHIP — EVENTS  OF  THE  WAR  IN 
1777 — SARATOGA 18 

III.  TREATY    OF    COMMERCE    AND    FRIENDSHIP — 

EVENTS   OF   THE   WINTER   AND  SPRING  OF 
1778 38 

IV.  D'ESTAING    IN    AMERICA — GERARD,    MINISTER 

PLENIPOTENTIARY  TO  CONGRESS — DIFFICULTY 
AND  IMPORTANCE  OF  His  ROLE — His  SUCCESS      58 

V.    WAR  IN  1779 84 

VI.  ACTIVITY  OF  LA  FAYETTE  IN  FRANCE — POLITI 
CAL  CRISIS  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES — WASH 
INGTON'S  DETERMINATION  96 

VII.  THE  EXPEDITIONARY  CORPS  OF  ROCHAMBEAU — 
THE  DEFENSIVE — CO-OPERATION  OF  THE 
FRENCH  WITH  THE  AMERICANS in 

VIII.  WINTER  QUARTERS — CHEVALIER  DE  CHASTEL- 
LUX  MAKES  A  TOUR — CAMPAIGN  OF  WAR — 
IN  THE  CAROLINAS — EXPEDITION  IN  THE 
CHESAPEAKE — EMBARRASSMENT  OF  THE  PO 
LITICAL  SITUATION  IN  EUROPE — FIDELITY  OF 
FRANCE 133 

ix 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

THE  OFFENSIVE— THE  MARCH  UPON  YORKTOWN 
— CAMPAIGN  OF  LA  FAYETTE  IN  VIRGINIA — 
YORKTOWN  ATTACKED  BY  SEA  AND  LAND- 
CAPITULATION  150 

X.    THE  ARMY  OF  ROCHAMBEAU  AFTER  YORKTOWN 
—THE    WAR    CEASES — THE    SQUADRON    OF 
VAUDREUIL   AT    BOSTON — FRANCO-AMERICAN 
FRIENDSHIP 184 

XI.    A  PEACE  OF  RECONCILIATION — CONCLUSION  .     199 
APPENDIX 209 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

General  Count  de  Rochambeau Frontispiece 

FACING  PAGE 

Captain  Joachim  Merlant xiii 

The  Marquis  de  Lafayette,  Son-in-Law  of  the  Duke 

d'Ayen 22 

Peace — An  Allegory 196 


CAPTAIN  JOACHIM   MERLANT. 


INTRODUCTION 

When  the  war  called  him  to  the  colors,  early  in 
August,  1914,  Joachim  Merlant,  professor  of  French  lit 
erature  at  the  University  of  Montpellier,  a  former  pupil 
of  the  Ecole  Normale  Sup6rieure,  was  the  author  of 
several  valuable  books  dealing  mainly  with  problems  of 
"interior  life."  Works  like  his  doctor  dissertation,  Le 
Roman  personnel  de  Rousseau  a  Fromentin  (1905),  or 
like  a  collection  of  essays  on  introspective  moralists,  De 
Montaigne  a  Vauvenargues  (1914),  subtle  studies  of  the 
main  apostles  of  intuition  and  of  self-culture,  had  made 
him,  more  or  less,  an  intellectual  inhabitant  of  the  so- 
called  "  Ivory  Tower."  Of  a  rather  frail  constitution, 
moreover,  Merlant  seemed  less  fitted  for  action  than 
for  contemplation,  and  even  for  a  kind  of  reverie  which, 
aloof  from  daily  interests,  is  more  concerned  with  the 
events  of  the  inner  individual  than  with  external  issues. 

But  here  is  the  wonderful  fact:  this  "intellectual," 
this  devoted  reader  of  Senancour  and  of  many  others 
who,  fokir-like,  had  taken  a  supreme  interest  in  the 
delicate  shades  of  their  interior  life,  found  in  the  very 
trend  of  his  studies  the  best  reason  for  an  admirable 
firmness  of  decision,  simplicity  of  purpose,  frankness  of 
attitude — all  the  virtues,  in  fact,  which  an  easy  short 
sightedness  often  attributes  to  so-called  "temperaments 
of  action."  A  devoted  father,  a  man  with  strong  relig 
ious  feelings,  Merlant  had,  of  course,  other  resources  on 
which  to  rely  for  his  attitude  of  heroism  and  sacrifice. 

xiii 


xiv  INTRODUCTION 

But  it  must  be  pointed  out  that  his  very  familiarity 
with  the  intricacies  of  the  self,  his  painstaking  method 
of  analysis,  his  perception  of  the  essentials  of  man  as  a 
moral  power,  were  the  main  support  of  his  wonderful 
bravery.  How  out  of  place  it  would  be,  considering 
such  an  example  of  activity,  to  draw  any  strict  line  be 
tween  two  fields  where  a  man  with  a  clear  head  and  a 
strong  will,  like  this  Frenchman,  proved  to  be  equally 
at  home ! 

After  some  months  spent  with  a  territorial  regiment 
in  the  south  of  France,  "along  the  water-front/*  as 
they  humorously  said,  Merlant  joined  an  active  unit, 
as  an  infantry  officer,  in  the  Argonne  Forest  of  future 
American  renown.  Optimistic,  serene,  an  immense 
moral  force  to  his  companions,  he  showed  the  best  spirit 
—a  spirit  which  revives  in  the  sketches  he  gave  of  those 
days.  Severely  wounded  in  1915,  he  was  decorated 
with  the  Legion  of  Honor  and  mentioned  in  dispatches. 
His  recovery  was  never  complete.  And,  being  unable 
to  fight,  he  resolved  to  help  with  speech  and  written 
word  the  cause  to  which  he  had  already  devoted  so 
much  of  himself. 


Following  an  invitation  from  the  "Alliance  Francaise 
in  the  United  States  and  Canada/'  Merlant  came,  as 
he  said,  for  his  "furlough  of  convalescence,"  to  the 
New  World.  From  the  6th  of  January  to  the  I2th  of 
May,  1916,  from  Quebec  to  New  Orleans  and  from  Bos 
ton  to  San  Diego,  he  delivered  seventy-nine  lectures, 
greeted  everywhere  as  a  perfect  embodiment  of  those 
virtues  of  sacrifice  and  enlightened  devotion  which  he 
traced  and  emphasized  in  French  literature.  He  did 
not  comment  upon  the  war,  upon  the  present  spirit  of 


INTRODUCTION  xv 

France:  he  mainly  spoke  of  the  past,  of  Corneille  and 
Balzac,  of  Lamennais  and  Vauvenargues  and  Vigny. 
But  he  seemed  to  continue  himself,  in  such  a  vivid  man 
ner,  the  great  examples  of  a  beautiful  tradition,  that 
the  underlying  lesson  was  easy  to  follow:  all  those  who 
have,  in  those  months  of  doubt  and  anguish,  listened 
to  his  words  have  testified  to  the  deep  impression  they 
left  in  every  soul.  Here  was,  really,  a  mind  which 
forced  a  disabled  body  and  an  enfeebled  constitution 
to  obey  and  to  carry  on.  At  the  same  time,  there  was 
so  much  distinction  and  delicacy  in  the  literary  and 
orational  performances  of  that  man,  fresh  from  the 
front,  that  many  of  Merlant's  hearers  understood 
through  him  that  no  coarseness  and  brutality  was 
attached,  in  the  best  fighters  of  France,  to  the  frankest 
adoption  of  a  state  of  war.  Columbia  University  was 
ready  to  ask  the  Montpellier  professor  to  make  a  longer 
stay  in  its  Romance  Department.  Unfortunately,  the 
death  of  his  wife  called  him  back  to  his  family  and 
to  his  country.  But  here,  too,  he  was  too  energetic 
to  rest  or  wait  for  other  days  to  come.  Out  of  his 
thankfulness  for  hospitable  America  and  of  his  new 
interest  in  war  affairs,  he  decided  to  inquire  into  the 
Franco- American  military  co-operation  of  1778-1783, 
and  to  tell  the  story  of  Lafayette  and  Rochambeau 
with  a  spirit  refreshed  by  the  events  of  the  present 
moment. 

*     *    * 

Merlant  had  felt  that  the  real  inspiration  of  the 
Franco- American  friendship  had  been  in  those  days — as 
it  was  to  be  in  the  Great  War — something  which  tran 
scended  distinctly  the  mere  material  conditions,  and 
even  political  combinations,  of  the  age.  Of  course  an 


xvi  INTRODUCTION 

element  of  " realism"  was  present  in  both  cases,  and 
"interests"  found  to  a  certain  extent  their  advantage 
in  the  struggle.  It  was,  nevertheless,  a  sort  of  national 
"oversoul"  which,  in  both  cases,  carried  with  it  majori 
ties  of  peoples  who,  otherwise,  would  have  felt  little 
real  concern  for  each  other.  A  common  belief  in  human 
dignity  and  in  progressive  political  emancipation  brought 
the  French  disciples  of  Montesquieu  to  the  side  of  the 
Insurgents.  All  the  optimism  of  the  eighteenth  cen 
tury  lived  again  in  the  enthusiasm  of  those  young  noble 
men  who  devoted  their  swords  to  a  cause  which  needed 
foreign  help,  if  self-determination  was  not  to  disappear 
early  in  the  struggle.  "Listening  only  to  the  words  of 
Justice  and  Humanity,  France  loved  the  nation  who 
dared  to  pledge  herself  to  Sincerity,  and  France's  old 
honor  came  to  shield  the  new  citizens  of  the  world."  In 
the  same  way,  Merlant  felt,  the  United  States  of  1917 
discovered  the  necessity  of  a  new  reverence  for  some  old 
truths  which  had  to  be  fought  for  in  the  Ancient  World. 
And  so  it  is  not  only  by  a  conflict  of  men,  materials,  or 
political  doctrines,  but  by  a  clash  between  ideals  where 
America  and  France,  however  apart,  had  found  much 
in  common,  that  those  two  episodes  of  Franco- American 
relations  had  been  signalled. 

Dedicated  to  the  French  Ambassador,  J.  J.  Jusse- 
rand,  a  pioneer  in  the  same  fields,  the  book  which  was 
to  be  Merlant 's  last  work  appeared  in  the  fall,  1918. 
The  author  was,  when  he  was  writing  it,  struggling 
with  a  smile  against  his  impaired  health;  he  had  been 
very  active,  at  the  same  time,  in  the  camps  of  southern 
France,  in  the  towns  and  villages,  explaining  war  issues 
and  bringing  closer  together  his  American  friends  and 
his  French  countrymen.  One  of  his  wishes  had  been 
to  see  his  book  translated,  and  he  was  glad  to  know 


INTRODUCTION  xvii 

that  the  work,  now  concluded  so  happily  by  Mrs. 
Mary  Bushnell  Coleman,  was  being  undertaken.  He 
would  have  been  gratified  to  hear  that  his  last  effort 
was  to  be  made  known  to  the  American  public. 

CAPITAINE  F.  BALDENSPERGER, 

Professeur  a  la  Sorbonne. 

COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY, 
June,  1919. 


SOLDIERS   AND    SAILORS   OF 

FRANCE  IN   THE  AMERICAN 

WAR   FOR  INDEPENDENCE 

(1776-1783) 

CHAPTER   I 

WHY  FRANCE  SYMPATHIZED  WITH   AMERICA — OPINION 
—MINISTRY 

On  December  loth,  1776,  Doctor  Franklin,  American 
Commissioner  to  the  Court  of  France,  disembarked 
in  the  Bay  of  Quiberon,  whence  through  Auray  he  ar 
rived  at  Nantes;  an  event  which  was  anything  but 
pleasing  to  the  English  Ambassador.  Imagination  ran 
riot;  tongues  began  to  wag  faster  than  the  swiftest 
post  could  go.  "The  emissary  from  Congress  was 
still  on  the  banks  of  the  Loire/'  remarked  Lord  Stor- 
mont  in  a  sarcastic  tone,  "while  many  loudly  proclaimed 
they  had  already  seen  him  in  Paris."  He  reached  there 
on  the  1 8th,  and  his  friends,  at  the  suggestion  of  Beau- 
marchais,  kept  him  for  a  while  in  seclusion. 

The  presence  within  the  confines  of  this  venerable 
monarchy  "of  the  wise  and  famous  rebel"  was  para 
doxical  in  the  extreme.  "What  an  astonishing  spec 
tacle,"  says  the  pamphleteer,  "to  see  at  the  Court  of 
a  monarch  by  divine  right,  a  proud  insurgent  who  tells 
him  that  there  is  a  contract  between  a  sovereign  and 
his  people,  and  when  the  sovereign  breaks  this  contract, 
he  necessarily  releases  his  people  from  their  allegiance." 


£OLIMEKS^AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

And  Coridof Get/ ifconie  time  afterward,  recalled  the 
happy  days  when  under  the  eyes  of  Benjamin  Franklin 
a  people  "  contented  with  their  yoke  of  ages,  were  drunk 
with  joy  at  the  idea  of  breaking  the  chains  of  another 
people  in  a  different  hemisphere." 

Intoxicating  really  in  its  effect  was  this  idea  of  Ameri 
can  liberty  which  had  taken  France  by  storm.  The 
Count  de  Segur,  who  ardently  desired  when  he  was 
twenty  years  old  to  enroll  himself  as  its  defender, 
recalled  in  his  old  age  the  reasons  for  this  enthusiasm 
which  seemed  to  inspire  all  hearts  alike.  For  more 
than  two  centuries  the  youths  of  France  were  taught 
in  college  to  admire  the  Republicans  of  ancient  cities 
and  dream  of  the  fabulous  days  of  liberty;  and  behold 
this  sleeping  liberty  now  awakens  in  the  American 
forests,  "to  struggle  gloriously  against  an  ancient 
domination."  Washington,  President  Hancock,  Jef 
ferson,  Franklin  appear  to  be  sages  contemporary  with 
Plato,  or  Republicans  of  the  days  of  Cato  or  Fabius; 
Congress  the  living  representation  of  the  old  Roman 
Senate ;  and  so  in  this  way  the  new  philosophy  attributes 
magic  to  the  influence  of  classic  legend. 

Into  the  mind  is  insinuated  a  love  of  democracy;  that 
is  to  say,  of  that  state  which  in  promoting  man  to  the 
dignity  of  citizen  demands  of  him  all  the  more  courage, 
vigilance,  and  power.  Already  influenced  by  the  great 
Geneva  preacher,  Jean  Jacques  Rousseau,  emotional 
souls  are  still  exalted  by  the  reading  of  those  passages 
from  Raynal  and  Mably  which  develop  the  theme: 
"Even  though  enlightened  and  beneficent,  despotism 
throws  a  nation  into  general  lethargy."  The  best  of 
princes  who  does  good,  "but  without  the  consent  of 
his  subjects,"  is  the  most  dangerous  of  masters;  for 
you  can  extricate  yourself  from  a  slavery  into  which 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE        3 

you  have  been  thrown  "by  violence,"  but  not  from  a 
slavery  into  which  you  allow  yourself  to  be  led  "by 
time  and  justice." 

Aristocracy  hastened  to  admire  this  people  animated 
by  an  acute,  uneasy  sentiment  of  its  responsibility; 
who  persisted  in  running  the  risks  of  liberty ;  who  would 
have  considered  honor  lost  had  it  not  been  continually 
alert  in  a  civic  way.  In  the  Observateur  Anglais  was 
published  a  prognostication  of  a  philosopher  of  the 
Gazette  de  Cleves,  in  which  he  said,  in  response  to  carica 
tures  circulated  by  the  English  about  the  soldiers  of 
liberty,  "that  their  resistance  would  astonish  our 
petty  souls,  and  that  they  would  go  far  beyond  all 
brilliant  deeds,  which  have  heretofore  been  considered 
great,  in  their  defense  of  the  rights  and  privileges  nat 
ural  to  man." 

"  History,  after  the  manner  of  the  Essai  sur  les  Mceurs, 
shows  in  our  sad  annals,"  said  Segur,  "so  many  civil 
wars  and  inhuman  massacres,  so  much  persecution, 
so  many  peoples  oppressed  by  the  Feudal  system,  and 
the  expulsion  and  spoliation  of  a  million  Frenchmen  for 
a  cause  of  heresy  being  so  recent,  and  of  such  revolt 
ing  absurdity,  that  the  youths  of  today  more  favored 
and  liberal-minded  look  forward  with  eagerness  to  a 
near  future  where  *  reason,  humanity  and  tolerance  will 
reign/'  There  was  also  a  wide-spread  literature,  prin 
cipally  from  travelers  and  missionaries,  who  presented 
to  the  French  imagination  an  entrancing  picture  of 
America,  inhabited  by  good  savages;  a  place  of  abun 
dance,  of  salvation,  where  the  sons  of  the  old  civilized 
races  could,  without  any  difficulty  whatever,  return  to 
the  primitive  days  of  innocence  and  joy. 

To  his  brothers  still  heavily  chained  to  European 
sorcery,  Hector  Saint  John  Crevecceur,  the  American 


4      SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

Farmer,  in  the  voice  of  a  proselyte  says:  "What  a  deep 
flow  of  energy  and  happiness  must  regenerate  them  as 
soon  as  they  plunge  into  the  vast  bosom  'of  the  great 
alma  mater.'  No  more  unfruitful  labor;  consequently, 
dark  passions  will  no  longer  afflict  and  embitter  men 
who  are  oppressed;  women  and  children  will  not  have 
to  ask  for  their  daily  bread,  but  will  now  be  well-fed 
and  strong,  ready  to  aid  the  father  to  plow  and  enrich 
the  field;  the  harvest  will  be  plentiful  enough  for  all 
without  having  to  pay  a  heavy  tax  to  a  despotic  prince, 
a  rich  abbot,  or  a  powerful  noble." 

Although  fascinated  with  America,  we  still  continued 
in  our  admiration  of  long  standing  for  the  political  status 
of  England.  At  first  we  were  satisfied  just  to  lend  an 
ear  (and  who  did  not  listen  ?)  to  the  eloquent  but  vain 
appeals  of  a  Burke,  or  a  Lord  Chatham,  endeavoring 
to  bring  Parliament  and  the  English  people  to  their 
senses;  but  they  seemed  to  be  seized  with  a  sort  of 
1  Vertigo."  "  America  is  almost  in  open  rebellion," 
said  Pitt.  "I  rejoice  that  America  offers  resistance. 
Three  millions  of  people  so  dead  to  all  the  feelings  of 
liberty  as  voluntarily  to  submit  to  be  slaves,  would 
have  been  fit  instruments  to  make  slaves  of  all  the  rest. 
It  is  asked  when  were  the  colonies  freed?  I  desire  to 
know  when  they  became  enslaved?"  Thus  spoke 
this  English  statesman  in  a  tragic  meeting  when  he 
was  ill  unto  death.  Behold  now  these  great  English 
ideas  of  economic  and  political  autonomy,  with  which 
France  for  thirty  years  had  been  infatuated  upon  read 
ing  Montesquieu !  Behold  old  England  wounded  in 
her  pride  as  parent  state  of  the  colonies,  and  through 
her  "delirious  conduct  toward  the  Bostonians"  giving 
the  lie  to  her  philosophy!  France  hears  it  still  pro 
claimed  by  the  more  foresighted  Britons,  who  were 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE        5 

hoping  by  their  supreme  persuasive  powers  to  hold  back 
their  country  tottering  over  "an  abyss"  ! 

To  quote  from  Segur:  "The  gay,  brilliant  life  of  the 
Court  no  longer  attracts  us;  even  when  we  think  of 
the  dignity,  independence,  useful  and  important  posi 
tion  of  a  Lord  of  England,  of  a  member  of  the  House 
of  Commons,  and  of  the  proud  peaceful  freedom  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Great  Britain,  it  does  not  satisfy  our 
amour-propre"  And  this  is  how  it  came  to  pass  that 
the  principles  of  liberty  crept  into  the  hearts  of  the 
French  nobles,  and  in  the  unison  of  aristocratic  and 
civic  honor  both  were  exalted.  The  nobles  of  France, 
weary  of  a  monotonous  life,  wished  to  play  a  role,  to 
have  a  mission.  It  was  this  vague  and  powerful  aspira 
tion  toward  the  strong  moral  qualities  of  liberty,  under 
the  generous  tutelage  of  the  aristocracy,  that  brought 
to  the  New  World  the  young  lords  of  the  Queen's  circle: 
S6gur,  Noailles,  the  Dillons,  La  Fayette.  They  had 
grown  tired  of  "the  gilded  servitude"  of  the  court. 

Their  new  ideas  were  mingled  with  some  very  ancient 
ones.  These  philosophers,  these  anglomaniacs,  dreamed 
of  chivalry.  All  that  there  was  of  brilliant  adventure, 
disinterested  idealism,  in  the  heroes  of  old  France,  from 
the  time  of  the  Crusades  to  the  epics  of  Henry  IV,  and 
even  beyond,  was  glorified  in  novels  and  dramas.  For 
some  it  was  only  a  fashion;  they  amused  themselves 
with  a  pretty  appearance  of  secrecy,  in  order  to  create 
orders  of  chivalry,  which  were  no  more  than  exclusive 
social  circles;  they  restored  the  ceremonial  of  the  an 
cient  customs  of  chivalry:  tournaments,  oaths,  and  rib 
bons;  this,  however,  led  to  no  consequence.  But  for 
others,  the  ardent  admirers  of  Voltaire,  the  chivalric 
traditions  still  lived.  As  Segur  says:  "Like  Paladins 
we  became  philosophers  .  .  .  and  this  was  according 


6      SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

to  the  authority  of  long  usage,  and  through  the  remem 
brance  of  our  ancestors.  When  our  Kings  were  at  peace 
their  officers  often  sought  war  and  adventure  elsewhere, 
and  made  brilliant  records  of  bravery;  sometimes  in 
the  Spanish  or  Italian  camps,  other  times  fighting  the 
Saracens,  again  with  the  Austrian  armies  repulsing  the 
invasions  of  the  Turks:  in  like  manner  we  sought  the 
means  of  crossing  the  ocean,  individually,  and  ranging 
ourselves  under  the  flag  of  American  liberty.  The 
sword  in  the  service  of  the  ideal !  The  example  of 
Pulaski,  and  that  of  Kosciusko,  spoke  eloquently.  And 
it  happened  quite  simply  that  our  youth,  'who  first 
declared  themselves  through  a  purely  bellicose  humor 
the  partisans  and  champions  of  liberty/  ended  in  as 
good  faith  as  they  had  begun,  and  fervently  loved 
this  liberty." 

But  ideas  alone  do  not  move  the  world.  It  is  cer 
tain  that  France  loved  American  liberty  because  it  was 
liberty;  neither  was  she  displeased  that  England  did 
not  meet  it  with  good  grace.  The  more  England  strug 
gled  against  it,  the  more  our  honor  was  interested  in 
winning  for  her  maltreated  sons  that  gift  which  she  was 
reluctant  to  surrender.  Besides,  England  and  France 
did  not  love  each  other  at  that  time.  The  humiliations 
of  the  treaties  of  1763  were  insupportable  to  us.  And 
since  1713  the  presence  at  Dunkerque  of  an  English 
commissioner,  kept  there  at  the  expense  of  the  King, 
to  prevent  us  from  rebuilding  our  torn-down  fortifica 
tions,  was  a  continual  insult  to  our  national  dignity. 
And  the  people  were  irritated  against  the  Ministry  for 
not  having  remedied  the  matter.  On  the  day  of  Saint 
Louis  (a  fete  day),  in  1777,  the  Parisians  tore  down  an 
Elogium  upon  the  Chancellor  de  1'Hopital  composed  by 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE        7 

Guibert,  and  put  up  in  its  place  the  following  resentful 
lines:  "Like  that  Roman  ambassador  who  traced  a 
circle  of  sand  around  Antiochus,  speaking  these  threat 
ening  words:  'You  do  not  leave  this  circle  until  you 
have  answered  me ! '  .  .  .  every  day  they  say  to  us : 
'We  shall  punish  you  if  you  raise  a  stone  upon  this  stone.' 
Oh,  L'Hopital !  Oh,  L'Hopital !  thou  wert  magistrate 
and  philosopher,  and  thou  wouldst  have  raised  all  the 
forces  of  the  Kingdom  against  such  intolerable  affront. 
It  is  before  thy  Manes  that  I  denounce  these  guilty 
Ministers !  They  call  themselves  pacifists,  and  they 
are  nothing  but  weaklings." 

So  much  for  the  Ministry.  And  the  partisans  of  a 
national  war  found  the  public  not  worth  any  more  than 
the  Ministry.  They  liked  to  agitate  the  question, 
but  they  did  not  act  upon  it.  The  intrepid  Du  Couedic 
told  them  so  in  verse: 

"Well  done,  Insurgent  rebels  ye, 
Winning  your  war  for  liberty  ! 
Your  ideas  bring  to  birth 
One  more  nation  on  the  earth. 
Firm,  courageous,  patient,  bold, 
Of  lofty  mien  and  noble  mold, 
And  really  free,  the  men  for  me ! 
And  yet,  be  it  said  in  confidence, 
How  could  you  offer  such  defense 
And  fight  with  such  philosophy, 
Unblessed  by  an  Academy  ? 
But  we,  philosophers,  alas  ! 
Scarce  bring  our  actions  to  the  pass; 
Our  minds  alone  are  full  of  life, 
Our  arms  are  useless  in  the  strife. 
With  satisfaction  we  see  in  action 
Our  Piccinists  and  our  Gluckists, 
(Say  nothing  of  the  Economists) 


8      SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

Who  with  pamphlets  bravely  fight, 
With  diatribes  defend  the  right: 
These  brochures,  we  must  confess, 
111  console  for  your  success."* 

But  if  the  truth  were  told,  the  nation  really  wanted 
war.  For  two  years  mutual  grievances  between  France 
and  England  increased.  It  was  occasioned  by  the  con 
tinual  trading  between  our  islands  in  the  West  Indies 
and  our  Atlantic  ports  with  the  insurgents.  Not  only 
did  the  English  cruise  on  the  open  sea  but  approached 
our  coasts  to  intercept  the  commerce  of  our  ships. 
They  even  came  under  the  very  cannon  of  our  forts. 
For  example:  March  26th,  1776,  Count  d'Argoult,  then 
Governor  of  Martinique,  complained  that  Captain 
Keeler,  commander  of  the  English  frigate  The  Lynx, 
anchored  at  the  mouth  of  the  harbor  of  Saint- Pierre,  and 
caught  a  brigantine  coming  from  the  Carolinas  freighted 
with  rice  and  honey  just  as  she  was  about  to  cast  an- 

*  "Bravo,  Messieurs  les  Insurgents ! 
Vainqueurs  dans  une  juste  guerre, 
Vous  donnez  par  vos  sentiments 
Un  peuple  de  plus  a  la  terre. 
Fermes,  courageux,  patients 
Dou6s  d'une  franchise  altiere, 
Libres  surtout !  voila  mes  gens. 
Cependant,  soit  dit  entre  nous, 
Avec  tant  de  philosophic 
Comment  diable  vous  battez-vous 
N'ayant  pas  une  Acad6mie? 
Nous  qui  pensons,  a  peine  helas ! 
Conservons-nous  quelque  6nergie. 
Nos  esprits  seuls  font  du  fracas, 
Nos  armes  sont  en  lethargie. 
Heureusement,  on  voit  sur  pieds, 
Sans  compter  les  Economistes, 
Des  Piccinistes,  des  Gluckistes, 
Qui  se  battent  par  des  pamphlets, 
S'escarmouchent  par  des  injures; 
Et  nos  valeureuses  brochures 
Nous  consolent  de  vos  succes." 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE        9 

chor.  There  were  stories  continually  told ;  some  tragic, 
others  amusing,  like  that  of  La  Rosier e  d'Artois,  for  in 
stance,  whose  crew  the  English  retained  prisoners  at 
St.  Augustine,  Florida.  The  sailors  were  told  they  could 
roam  wherever  they  pleased;  even  go  out  of  the  town 
if  they  liked;  but  the  English  had  promised  120  pounds 
to  the  Indians  for  each  Frenchman's  scalp.  On  January 
24th,  1777,  the  Correspondance  Secrete*  gives  this  story, 
which  shows  very  clearly,  if  not  the  exact  truth,  our  atti 
tude  toward  the  colonists  and  toward  Great  Britain: 
"Two  vessels,  one  English,  the  other  Philadelphian,  met 
in  sight  of  Port  Royal,  Martinique,  and  fought  from 
early  morning  until  night.  Then,  the  English  ship 
started  for  the  port;  its  adversary  followed.  The 
French  commander  of  the  place  welcomed  both  cap 
tains,  and  required  them  to  keep  the  peace  according 
to  the  laws  of  the  King  of  France,  and  invited  them  to 
sup  with  him.  The  two  vessels  remained  in  port  eight 
days  for  repairs,  the  captains  always  eating  and  playing 
cards  together.  On  the  ninth  day,  after  supper  the 
Englishman  said  to  the  Philadelphian:  'Tomorrow, 
put  out  to  sea.  .  .  .'  Til  be  there,'  was  the  brief 
response.  But  the  combat  never  took  place.  The 
English  captain  learned,  upon  returning  to  his  ship,  that 
a  great  number  of  Frenchmen  in  the  village  were  ar 
ranging  to  go  aboard  the  Philadelphia  ship  to  give  assis 
tance.  Before  day-break  the  English  decided  to  sail 
away;  the  next  morning  they  had  disappeared." 

There  was  a  large  party  of  traders  and  negotiators 
who  regarded  the  war  as  a  fine  business ;  this  party  was 
intimately  connected  with  the  Economists,  men  of  ideas 

*  Correspondance  Secrete  inedite  sur  Louis  XVI,  Marie  Antoinette,  la 
Cour  et  la  Ville,  published  from  the  manuscripts  of  the  Imperial  Library  at 
St.  Petersburg  by  M.  de  Lescure,  Paris,  1866. 


io     SOLDIERS  AND   SAILORS  OF   FRANCE 

whose  influence  was  valuable.  At  the  house  of  Madame 
Helvetius,  in  Franklin's  circle,  a  Le  Ray  de  Chaumont 
met  Morellet,  Mably,  Raynal,  Condorcet,  De  Gebelin, 
Turgot,  who  undoubtedly  did  not  desire  the  war;  but 
it  was  sufficient  that  he  should  want  the  freedom  of  the 
seas,  so  that  from  their  relations  with  him  these  men  of 
large  business  interests  could  derive  advantage.  In 
November,  1776,  a  ship  coming  from  Rhode  Island, 
carrying  a  cargo  of  200,000  pounds  of  sugar  and  rice, 
had  brought  to  the  merchants  of  Nantes  a  letter  signed 
by  some  members  of  Congress,  "inviting  the  French 
to  trade  regularly  and  unite  in  a  common  interest." 
Thereupon,  according  to  the  memorandum  of  the 
Nantes  merchants  who  asked  permission  to  do  this,  M. 
de  Sartine  made  them  a  verbal  reply  to  the  effect  that 
he  would  close  his  eyes  to  their  negotiations,  but  could 
not  grant  them  any  authorized  relations  with  the  in 
surgents.  Trade,  however,  was  bolder  than  the  govern 
ment.  The  officials  tried  in  vain  to  hold  down  trade 
and  public  opinion;  speculation  spread,  opinion  was 
freely  expressed;  everything  was  interpreted  in  the 
sense  of  war.  In  January,  1777,  "for  fear  we  would 
come  to  grief  with  our  rivals,  we  spread  the  report  that 
the  English  had  blocked  Belle-Isle."  The  Correspon- 
dance  Secrete  noted  a  little  later:  "The  American  cause 
has  so  many  partisans  and  enthusiasts  in  Paris  and  our 
maritime  provinces,  that  if  we  abandon  the  insurgents 
to  the  mercy  of  the  English,  there  will  be  a  terrible 
fermentation  in  the  heads  of  many  Frenchmen."  Why 
then  did  Beaumarchais  court  the  favor  of  M.  de  Ver- 
gennes  by  urging  the  friends  of  Doctor  Franklin  to  keep 
him  well  in  the  background  (tenir  sous  clef)  ? 

The  Count  de  Vergennes,  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs, 
was  a  man  of  surpassing  ability,  and  one  of  the  greatest 


SOLDIERS  AND   SAILORS   OF   FRANCE       n 

Ministers  that  ever  served  France.  His  constant  care, 
from  1774,  date  of  the  accession  of  Louis  XVI,  the 
twenty-year-old  King  of  France,  was  to  make  the  mon 
archy  strong  enough  to  stop  "brigandage"  in  Europe, 
and  to  restore  a  "magnanimous"  political  state  founded 
on  the  "sacred  rights  of  justice  and  propriety."  Was 
the  time  ripe  for  this  restoration  ?  A  thoughtful  man 
in  charge  of  the  government  had  reasons  for  hope  and 
doubt:  the  destiny  of  France  depended  upon  the  party. 

In  the  point  of  view  of  a  statesman  and  the  King's 
Minister,  the  Bostonians  were  regarded  as  rebels.  The 
American  colonies  had  given  an  example  to  all  the 
colonies  of  the  old  countries  of  Europe  of  establishing 
within  their  own  boundary  manufactures  of  all  kinds; 
of  doing  without  their  mother  countries;  of  refusing 
taxes  when  they  had  no  votes;  of  objecting  to  draw  upon 
Europe  for  what  they  could  obtain  from  their  own  soil, 
so  as  to  enrich  her  and  ruin  themselves.  But  there  was 
nothing  in  this  movement  that  could  frighten  the  eco 
nomical  liberalism  of  a  Vergennes ;  however,  politically, 
through  a  spirit  of  monarchical  solidarity,  Vergennes  had 
to  mistrust  the  insurgents:  "There  are  moral  as  well  as 
physical  ills  in  this  condition  of  things;  both  can  be 
come  contagious."  In  presence  of  "so  terrible  an  ex 
plosion"  which  was  brought  out  by  the  spirit  of  inde 
pendence  in  North  America,  the  Minister  was  looking 
"at  the  excesses  that  enthusiasm  could  encourage  and 
fanaticism  operate." 

And,  besides,  these  colonists  were  English;  the  French 
were  idolizing  American  liberty;  but  Vergennes  knew 
(and  we  will  have  many  occasions  to  prove  it)  that  the 
Americans  had  all  the  English  prejudices  against  France. 
It  is  dangerous  to  interfere  in  family  affairs,  and  a  wise 
man  hesitates  to  do  so.  To  Vergennes  this  quarrel  be 
tween  England  and  her  rebellious  sons  looked  like  a 


12     SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

family  affair,  and  he  was  not  mistaken.  If  France, 
therefore,  should  intervene,  would  it  not  lead,  as  if  by 
magic,  to  a  reconciliation  of  the  brother-enemies  against 
an  old  adversary  "who  was  trying  to  increase  the  cool 
ness  between  them"? 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Kalb,  German  officer  in  the  ser 
vice  of  France,  on  a  commission  from  Choiseul  to  Amer 
ica,  well  said  in  1768:  "It  would  not  be  a  sane  policy 
for  any  power  whatsoever  to  meddle  in  this  quarrel, 
even  at  the  requests  of  the  Colonists  (which  is  not  prob 
able)  unless  there  were  acts  of  hostilities  between  Amer 
ica  and  Great  Britain;  unless  the  Colonists  published 
their  independence  everywhere;  or  united  themselves 
under  a  general  federation,  armed  themselves,  and  in 
vited,  by  a  unanimous  and  public  declaration,  all  na 
tions  to  come  into  their  ports  and  deal  commercially 
with  them."  No  doubt  since  1768  the  irreparable  had 
already  taken  place.  But  Vergennes  wished  to  be  doubly 
sure.  An  old  monarchy  upon  the  point  of  uniting  itself 
with  a  new  government  without  any  tradition  must  not 
cede  to  a  burst  of  enthusiasm,  nor  trust  implicitly  to 
the  future.  And  the  principal  scruple  of  Vergennes  was 
that  the  colonists,  once  they  had  gained  their  liberty, 
might  separate  and  the  pledges  of  Congress  come  to 
naught.  He  knew  what  a  strong  tendency  there  was 
among  the  Americans  for  state  independence. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  was  fear  of  English  aggres 
sion.  England  armed  and  desperate  at  the  loss  of  Amer 
ica  could  avenge  herself  upon  the  French  for  her  de 
ception;  her  Ministers,  responsible  to  the  nation  for  a 
political  disaster,  could  be  tempted  ("in  order  to  save 
themselves  from  the  scaffold")  to  offer  a  glorious  diver 
sion,  for  which  France  would  have  to  defray  the  expenses. 
Vergennes  then  prepared  for  war;  he  mobilized  the  army. 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE      13 

He  did  not  conclude  that  it  was  necessary  at  the  time 
to  make  any  decided  engagement  with  America.  Why 
not  let  England  destroy  herself  ?  His  policy  was  very 
circumspect;  he  assumed  an  attitude  of  expectancy. 

Beaumarchais,  the  most  stirring  and  active  of  the  men 
of  affairs,  whose  post  was  at  London,  kept  the  French 
Ministry  continually  harassed  with  his  information. 
On  September  22d,  1775,  he  dared  to  write  to  the  King: 
"The  Colonists  will  triumph  over  England.  .  .  .  The 
end  of  the  crisis  will  lead  to  a  war  with  France.  .  .  . 
Our  Ministry  seems  to  have  a  stagnant,  passive  air  in 
regard  to  these  events  which  so  vitally  concern  us." 
Vergennes  let  this  red-hot  enthusiast  say  what  he 
would,  and  then  he  calmly  took  his  pen  and  wrote  these 
words:  "All  sleep  is  not  lethargic."  His  manner  of 
suppressing  these  questions  made  them  all  the  more 
persistent.  So  thought  Lord  Stormont  as  he  came  each 
week  to  notify  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  (who  knew 
well  what  was  transpiring)  of  the  Boston  ships  ready  to 
leave  our  ports  laden  with  guns  and  cannon  from  our 
arsenals;  or  of  the  negotiations  for  supplies  going  on 
between  them  and  the  French  merchants.  In  August, 
1775,  nearly  a  year  before  the  Declaration  of  Indepen 
dence,  Vergennes  was  about  to  decide  to  treat  America 
as  a  sovereign  nation:  "At  the  first  hostile  act  of  Eng 
land,  all  her  vessels  at  sea  and  in  our  ports  were  to  be 
seized  with  the  exception  of  those  belonging  to  North 
America  with  cargoes  to  be  sent  there.  And  perhaps  it 
would  be  more  convenient  to  make  a  reciprocal  declara 
tion,  thereby  making  them  equal  to  a  free  and  inde 
pendent  people,  so  that  they  could  be  invited  to  come  to 
our  respective  ports,  and  be  assured  of  the  freedom  and 
advantages  of  our  commerce." 

About  this  time  De  Vergennes  sent  to  America  M.  de 


14    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

Bonvouloir,  a  gentleman  well  versed  in  the  affairs  of 
the  colonies,  with  a  mission  to  speak  of  France  to  the 
Americans,  as  a  friendly  nation  who  admired  "the  gran 
deur  and  nobility  of  their  efforts,'*  and  would  be  glad 
to  have  them  frequent  our  ports.  He  also  wanted  to 
reassure  them  upon  the  jealous  point:  "France  has 
no  ambition  for  conquests;  she  has  no  desire  to  recover 
Canada."  Vergennes  was  very  careful  about  this  ques 
tion;  to  reinstate  the  power  of  the  King  of  France  in 
the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the  Bostonians  would 
have  awakened  their  uneasiness  and  stirred  up  their 
antipathy  to  us.  It  would  be  much  better  to  leave  the 
English  there,  so  that  the  Americans,  always  feeling  their 
independence  threatened,  would  turn  instinctively  to 
ward  France.  He  never  changed  his  theory  and  line  of 
conduct,  in  spite  of  the  suggestions  of  the  dreamers  of 
conquest  or  the  many  expressions  of  public  opinion. 
M.  de  Bonvouloir,  who  passed  for  a  merchant  of  Ant 
werp,  played  his  role  well.  He  was  welcomed  by  the 
Committee  of  Secret  Correspondence  over  which  Frank 
lin  presided.  And  now  we  have  the  result  of  his  visit. 
On  March  3d,  1776,  a  few  days  before  the  English, 
under  pressure  of  Washington's  troops,  had  to  evacuate 
Boston,  the  committee  gave  instructions  to  an  insurgent 
of  Connecticut  by  the  name  of  Silas  Deane  to  depart 
as  a  delegate  to  France. 

Deane  received  a  courteous  but  cold  reception,  to 
which  he  quietly  submitted;  he  remembered  the  recom 
mendations  of  modesty  which  Franklin  cautioned  him 
to  have;  he  did  not  present  himself  as  an  emissary 
of  the  colonies  to  the  French  Government;  he  allowed 
Le  Ray  de  Chaumont  and  le  bon  ami  Barbeu-Dubourg 
to  regulate  his  conduct;  he  learned  how  to  become  a 
"Frenchman  of  Paris."  He  only  spoke  of  commerce 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE      15 

with  the  West  Indies;  upon  everything  else  silence. 
Deane  managed,  however,  to  transmit  the  message  to 
Vergennes  that  the  monarchy  could  depend  upon  prom 
ises  made  to  it  by  Congress.  But  it  was  the  Declara 
tion  of  Independence  more  than  the  discreet  eloquence 
of  Silas  Deane  and  his  "republican  ingenuity  "  that 
brought  about  the  decision  of  the  Minister. 

Vergennes  was  apprised  of  this  act  August  1 7th, 
1776,  through  a  report  of  our  Charg6  d 'Affaires  at  Lon 
don.  We  are  not  surprised  that  the  diplomats,  what 
ever  may  have  been  their  inward  thoughts,  read  with 
avidity  the  following  great  considerations  of  political 
philosophy  which  gave  to  that  fine  exposition  of  Ameri 
can  grievances  such  a  noble  background:  "We  hold 
these  truths  to  be  self  evident;  that  all  men  are  created 
equal;  that  they  are  endowed  by  their  Creator  with 
certain  inalienable  Rights;  that  among  these  are  Life, 
Liberty  and  the  Pursuit  of  Happiness.  That  to  secure 
these  rights,  governments  are  instituted  among  men, 
deriving  their  just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the 
governed;  that  whenever  any  Form  of  Government 
becomes  destructive  of  these  ends,  it  is  the  Right  of  the 
People  to  alter  or  abolish  it."  At  these  words  public 
opinion  was  swayed  by  admiration  and  hope;  naturally, 
they  did  not  sound  well  to  the  cabinets  and  courts 
of  Europe.  Vergennes  took  note  of  but  one  thing:  "it 
had  been  pronounced  solemnly  between  two  armies  and 
before  a  formidable  fleet."  Where,  then,  was  "that 
immediate  submission  that  the  English  expected  as 
the  instantaneous  effect  of  their  threats"?  Was  there 
something  unconquerable  in  this  new  nation?  Was  it 
true,  then,  that  England  had  pushed  them  to  despera 
tion?  And  when  before  the  Assembly  of  Virginia,  at 
Richmond,  March  2Oth,  1775,  Patrick  Henry  spoke  these 


16     SOLDIERS  AND   SAILORS  OF   FRANCE 

words:  "In  vain  after  these  things  may  we  indulge 
the  fond  hope  of  reconciliation.  There  is  no  longer 
any  room  for  hope.  We  must  fight.  There  is  a  just 
God  who  presides  over  the  destinies  of  nations,  and  who 
will  raise  up  friends  to  fight  our  battles  for  us.  .  .  ." 
This  courageous  speech,  full  of  divine  inspiration,  was 
not  just  the  appeal  of  one  hero,  but  the  cry  of  the  soul 
of  the  whole  American  nation. 

Vergennes  now  declares  himself.  His  decision  was 
resumed  in  his  famous  Memoire  read  to  the  King  before 
a  meeting  of  the  King's  Cabinet  on  August  3ist,  1775: 
"Adhering  to  the  principles  of  the  King  whose  cherished 
wish  is  to  found  the  glory  of  his  reign  upon  justice  and 
peace,  it  is  certain  that  if  His  Majesty  should  seize  this 
unique  opportunity,  which  perhaps  will  never  recur 
again  in  centuries,  he  would  succeed  in  giving  a  blow  to 
England  that  would  be  strong  enough  to  make  her  with 
draw  her  power  into  just  bounds,  and  control  the  peace 
of  nations  for  many  years  to  come;  he  would  have  the 
glory,  so  near  to  his  heart,  of  being,  not  only  the  bene 
factor  of  his  people,  but  of  all  mankind."  And  here 
follow  words  of  warning:  "Shall  we  leave  our  Isl 
ands  exposed  to  the  discretion  of  the  English,  who 
will  be  in  a  position  to  take  possession  of  them  when 
despair  will  force  them  to  abandon  the  continent  of 
America  ?  .  .  .  This  would  be  placing  ourselves  before 
the  Kingdom  and  the  entire  world  as  betrayers  of  our 
national  interests. "  Henceforth  we  will  see  that  Ameri 
can  independence  is  found  to  be  closely  allied  to  the 
great  design  of  a  French  Restoration. 

But  August  27th,  1776,  the  American  army  suffered 
great  reverses  at  Long  Island.  Soon  after,  New  York 
was  evacuated.  Not  by  any  means  in  despair,  how 
ever,  at  their  change  of  fortune,  the  Committee  of 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE      17 

Secret  Correspondence  appointed  commissioners  on  Sep 
tember  26th  to  go  to  the  court  of  France:  Silas 
Deane,  who  was  already  there ;  Arthur  Lee,  then  in  Lon 
don,  and  Benjamin  Franklin.  But  again  the  French 
Ministry  fell  back  in  an  attitude  of  scrupulous  precau 
tion.  Beaumarchais  could  repress  himself  no  longer. 
"Poor  France,"  he  said,  "a  thousand  years  will  not  give 
back  to  thee  the  one  moment  that  thou  hast  lost!'* 
On  October  28th  the  Americans  were  again  defeated 
at  Chatterton's  Hill.  But  on  the  27th  Franklin  had 
already  sailed  on  the  sloop  of  war  Reprisal.  This  cour 
ageous  old  man  had  left  in  Paris,  in  his  sojourn  there  in 
1767-1769,  the  remembrance  of  a  great  mind  and  of  a 
charming  Epicurean.  His  book  The  Science  of  Good 
man  Richard  was  full  of  deep  and  artful  thoughts.  His 
friend  Barbeu-Dubourg  edited,  in  an  elegant  quarto 
binding,  a  choice  selection  of  the  works  of  this  illustrious 
insurgent.  This  Phocion,  notwithstanding  the  personal 
risk  that  he  ran,  permitted  his  ship  en  route  to  take  two 
prizes.  What  a  contrast  to  the  timidity  of  the  Min 
istry  !  Vergennes  had  to  tell  Doctor  Franklin  that  on 
account  of  our  treaty  of  navigation  with  England  we 
could  not  authorize  the  sale  of  these  vessels,  and  that 
they  would  have  to  be  taken  to  a  port  of  his  own  nation. 
Upon  hearing  this,  all  doors  were  open  to  him — at 
least  they  were  half  open. 


CHAPTER  II 

FRANKLIN  IN  PARIS — THE  EQUIPMENT  OF  LA  FAYETTE*S 
SHIP — EVENTS  OF  THE  WAR  IN    1777 — SARATOGA 

Franklin  was  very  wise ;  he  did  not  announce  himself 
as  an  ambassador,  but  "as  a  philosopher,"  according  to 
the  author  of  English  and  American  Anecdotes.  "Dis 
tressed  at  the  troubles  in  his  own  country,  and  turning 
his  eyes  from  so  many  objects  of  desolation,  he  came  to 
make  a  peaceful  sojourn  in  France."  He  stayed  at 
Passy  with  his  friend  Le  Ray  de  Chaumont,  merchant 
and  philosopher — "at  the  gates  of  Paris,  on  the  road  to 
Versailles." 

"In  this  retreat  he  saw  very  few  people  and  was  on 
his  guard.  It  was  whispered  abroad  that  the  enmity 
of  the  English  Ministers  could  make  it  very  dangerous 
for  him."  This  idea  alone  rendered  his  cause  most  inter 
esting.  And  now  for  his  physical  appearance:  "Every 
thing  about  him  announced  the  simplicity  and  innocence 
of  old  fashioned  manners.  He  had  taken  off  the  bor 
rowed  wig  which  covered  his  bare  head  and  forehead 
while  in  England.  He  showed  to  the  astonished  multi 
tude  a  head  worthy  of  the  brush  of  a  Guido,  set  upon 
a  body  erect  and  vigorous,  covered  with  the  plainest 
clothes;  his  eyes  were  shaded  with  large  spectacles,  and 
in  his  hand  he  carried  a  white  stick."  He  seldom  spoke; 
he  could  be  impolite  without  rudeness;  his  pride  seemed 
natural.  Such  a  person  was  made  to  excite  the  curiosity 
of  the  Parisians  who  crowded  around  him.  They  would 
ask:  "Who  is  this  old  peasant  with  such  a  noble  air?" 

18 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE      19 

Three  months  after  his  arrival  his  portrait  was  every 
where;  even  upon  canes  and  snuff-boxes,  with  this 
inscription  by  Turgot :  Eripuit  codo  fulmen,  sceptrumque 
tyrannis. 

Franklin's  discretion  and  his  pretended  lack  of  in 
terest  proved  to  be  infinitely  useful.  The  Correspon 
dence  Secrete  knew  the  value  of  it:  "Although  Doctor 
Franklin  may  say  that  he  no  longer  pays  attention  to 
American  affairs,  nevertheless,  as  an  honest  citizen  of 
his  country,  he  cannot  help,  through  respect  for  the 
truth,  but  make  the  following  statement :  'In  regard  to 
the  recent  important  victory,  about  which  the  Court 
of  England  is  making  such  a  stir,  saying  that  "the  Army 
of  Washington  was  forced  to  leave  its  intrenchments, 
and  all  the  posts  and  forts  destroyed"  .  .  .  the  real 
facts  are  that  the  American  General  wished  to  draw 
the  English  Army  one  hundred  leagues  farther  inland, 
so  as  to  finish  the  destruction  of  it  without  striking  a 
blow;  for  it  was  already  decimated  by  all  kinds  of  sick 
ness  and  lack  of  food;  that  it  did  not  cost  Washington 
one  hundred  men  to  execute  the  abandonment  of  the 
intrenchments;  that  they  did  not  leave  a  sack  of  grain 
or  food  of  any  kind ;  all  of  which  proves  that  the  Ameri 
cans  were  not  forced  to  do  this. ' '  Thus  Franklin  com 
mented  on  the  fine  retreat  of  the  Americans  at  Trenton, 
Princeton,  and  all  that  campaign  where,  on  each  side 
of  the  Delaware,  Washington,  while  retreating,  sought 
for,  and  often  succeeded  in  gaining,  the  mastery.  Every 
time  they  spoke  to  the  doctor  about  some  repulse  the 
insurgents  suffered,  he  would  say:  "That  is  all  right; 
the  English  will  be  caught  in  the  end." 

Franklin's  moderation,  the  modesty  of  his  demands, 
awakened  distrust  in  the  mind  of  Vergennes.  He 
proposed,  after  all,  only  the  signing  of  a  pledge,  or 


20     SOLDIERS  AND   SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

rather  of  a  treaty  of  commerce  and  friendship,  that  the 
Assembly  of  the  colonies  offered  to  France  first,  because 
of  the  consideration  that  this  power  had  shown  to  their 
ships.  The  English  had  given  the  doctor  the  reputa 
tion  of  being  a  Machiavelli,  and  Lord  Stormont  was 
careful  to  see  that  this  idea  was  circulated  at  the  court 
of  Versailles ;  it  might  have  been  that  Vergennes  allowed 
himself  to  be  influenced  somewhat  by  these  reports. 
But  he  was  much  relieved — almost  reassured — when 
the  American  Commissioners,  January  5th,  1777,  made 
so  bold  as  to  ask  for  ships,  bayonets,  and  immediate 
aid  of  an  army  that  would  make  a  strong  diversion; 
otherwise,  forced  by  a  harassing  course  of  conduct  on 
the  part  of  the  English,  the  Americans  would  be  obliged 
to  make  a  settlement  with  the  mother  country. 

Vergennes  did  not  go  so  far  as  that ;  he  refused ;  but 
he  softened  the  refusal  with  2,000,000  (livres)  francs. 
Franklin  knew  how  to  play  his  part  admirably;  faith 
ful  to  his  discipline  in  regard  to  older  powers,  "while 
preserving  the  dignity  of  character  of  a  young  nation, 
he  accommodated  himself  to  the  temperament  of  the 
others."  In  his  words  of  gratitude,  in  a  dignified,  clever 
way,  he  praised  the  royal  magnanimity,  and  begged  his 
Majesty  to  believe  that  America  was  far  from  desiring 
to  lead  him  into  taking  measures  that  his  sovereign 
wisdom  and  justice  would  disapprove. 

Franklin  knew  that  munitions  were  passed  over  the 
seas  continually;  while  the  King,  to  all  appearances, 
seemed  not  to  interfere.  The  orders  from  the  arsenals 
were  often  suspended;  they  had  to  take  into  account 
the  humor  of  Lord  Stormont.  Artillery  was  put  on 
board  a  ship  at  Havre;  they  had  to  take  if  off  at  Lorient; 
but  they  took  it  off  on  the  starboard  side  and  put  it 
back  on  the  larboard;  and  the  Amphitrite  arrived  just 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE      21 

the  same  in  Boston  harbor.  In  March,  1777,  ten  vessels 
of  the  firm  of  Hortales  &  Co. — in  reality  Beaumar- 
chais — sailed  toward  America.  On  one  of  them  was 
the  Chevalier  du  Coudray,  several  other  officers  of  ar 
tillery,  and  materials  of  war.  This  was  the  Amphitrite. 
Another  ship,  which  dared  to  bear  the  name  of  Count  de 
Vergennes,  had  on  board  a  military  engineer,  the  future 
architect  of  Washington,  the  federal  city,  Lieutenant, 
later,  Major  L' Enfant.  Now  engineers  and  artillery 
men  were  the  specialists  of  which  America  stood  most 
in  need;  "they  had  courage  enough,  but  lacked  science." 
The  choice  was  difficult  to  make,  for  all  kinds  of  ad 
venturers  and  malcontents  "began  to  frequent  the 
public  places  in  Paris  and  the  ports,  and  spent  their 
time  bragging  and  beseeching  to  be  employed."  In  the 
cafes  they  would  speak  openly  of  having  their  passports 
in  their  pockets;  from  time  to  time  a  police  agent 
would  go  around  and  tell  them  to  keep  quiet.  They 
besieged  Deane,  "who  was  tired  to  death  with  their 
petitions."  After  a  treaty  had  been  duly  signed  with 
Deane,  La  Seine,  which  had  on  board  Colonel  Kalb 
and  the  Viscount  de  Mauroy  as  major-generals,  the 
Sennevilles,  Chevalier  du  Buyssons,  Du  Bois-Martin, 
and  Amaryton  as  majors — and  a  dozen  other  fine  offi 
cers — received  orders  not  to  sail  just  as  it  was  about  to 
leave  the  port  of  Havre,  in  December,  1776.  Several 
of  these  officers,  in  March,  1777,  succeeded  in  escaping 
to  the  Victoire,  the  famous  ship  that  was  fitted  out  by 
the  Marquis  de  La  Fayette,  which  finally  took  them  to 
the  other  side  of  the  ocean. 

The  Marquis  de  La  Fayette,  son-in-law  of  the  Duke 
d'Ayen,  had  barely  returned  from  a  trip  to  London 
when  he  equipped  a  small  frigate  at  his  own  expense, 


22     SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

and  set  sail  from  Port  Royan  with  some  young  men  of 
his  age.  "The  desire  to  visit  our  Colonies  (French) 
and  learn  a  little  of  the  art  of  navigation  are  reasons 
enough  that  he  left  a  charming  wife  and  a  family  that 
adored  him;  but  without  these  it  might  be  necessary  to 
ascribe  other  views  to  him."  These  were  the  guarded 
terms  used  by  the  humorous  correspondent  in  Paris  of 
the  Courier  de  V Europe,  when  he  told  the  story  that 
caused  so  much  gossip  at  the  court  and  in  the  city. 
Not  the  least  discontented  of  the  family  was  M.  de 
Noailles,  our  Ambassador  at  London.  The  marquis 
had  played  quite  a  nice  little  trick  on  his  uncle:  " I  must 
say,"  wrote  the  uncle  to  Vergennes,  "that  if  he  had  not 
taken  it  into  his  head  to  come  to  London  to  prolong  his 
carnival,  I  would  not  now  be  in  this  awkward  position 
of  having  presented  him  to  the  King  of  England  just 
before  he  proceeded  to  carry  out  this  very  strange  esca 
pade.  But  I  do  not  doubt  that  His  Majesty  knows  the 
profound  respect  I  bear  him,  and  will  render  to  me  the 
justice  that  I  crave."  M.  de  Noailles  was  at  a  loss  what 
to  say  later  when  Lord  Suffolk,  on  April  nth,  quietly 
made  the  remark  to  him  "that  the  winds  had  been 
very  favorable,  for  some  days,  for  the  English  transports 
going  to  America." 

His  Britannic  Majesty  had  his  brother  much  to  blame 
for  this  "escapade"  of  the  marquis,  for  the  Duke  of 
Gloucester,  at  a  dinner  given  him  by  the  Count  de 
Broglie,  at  Metz,  in  August,  1775,  had  taken  sides  a 
little  too  ardently  with  the  insurgents.  La  Fayette 
was  there  and  heard  all  he  said  on  the  subject;  he  was 
eighteen  years  old  and  was  deeply  moved ;  and  while  to 
all  appearances  he  remained  cool  and  indifferent,  his 
heart  was  on  fire.  As  an  act  of  heroism  this  descendant 
of  an  old  family  of  Auvergne  would  have  to  do  an  un- 


LE   MAR Q IT-IS  HE  LA  FAYETTI: 


THE  MARQUIS  DE  LAFAYETTE,   SON-IN-LAW  OF  THE  DUKE  D'AYEN. 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE      23 

usually  brave  deed,  for  dating  from  his  ancestor  Jean 
Motier  de  La  Fayette,  the  glorious  marshal,  killed  at 
the  battle  of  Poitiers,  he  counted  among  his  sires  "so 
many  killed  from  father  to  son  on  the  field  of  battle,  that 
it  became  an  old  saying  in  the  province."  As  colonel 
of  the  grenadiers  of  France  at  twenty-five,  his  father 
was  killed  "at  the  bloody  little  victory  of  Hastembeck" 
the  day  he  was  born,  September  6th,  1757,  on  the  con 
fines  of  Velay  and  Gevaudan.  "As  a  child,"  he  said, 
"the  hope  of  meeting  the  beast  of  Gevaudan  enlivened 
many  of  my  promenades."  At  twenty  the  marquis 
wished  to  kill  the  hydra  of  despotism. 

How  he  fled  with  Colonel  Kalb,  an  older  and  more 
experienced  man;  with  what  emotion  his  father-in- 
law  heard  it;  how  upon  the  eve  of  sailing  a  lettre  de 
cachet  reached  him  ordering  as  a  remedy  for  his  taste 
for  adventure  a  trip  to  Itajy;  and  the  scruples  he  had 
to  overcome  when  he  feigned  submission,  and  finally 
other  ideas  which  soon  obtained  the  mastery  and  kept 
him  from  missing  the  call  of  liberty;  how  his  father-in- 
law  was  noisily  angry,  while  the  court  applauded  his 
generous  folly;  and  how  the  marquis,  in  order  to  make 
conventionality  and  the  impulse  of  his  heart  agree,  per 
suaded  himself  that  the  order  for  him  not  to  depart  was 
but  a  form  of  diplomacy;  how  the  formal  disavowal  of 
the  Ministry,  feebly  sustained  by  the  other  officials  of 
the  King,  ended  at  last  in  silent  approbation — all  this 
one  reads  or  divines  in  his  Memoires. 

Meanwhile,  on  the  20th  of  April,  the  Victoire  turned 
straight  in  the  direction  of  America,  and  he  wrote 
this  consoling  letter  to  his  wife  while  at  sea:  "Defender 
of  that  liberty  which  I  adore,  more  liberal  in  my  own 
opinions  than  anyone  else  [of  what  is  he  thinking?]  in 
going  to  offer  my  services  to  this  interesting  republic, 


24     SOLDIERS  AND   SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

I  only  carry  with  me  frankness  and  good-will.  .  .  . 
I  hope  for  my  sake  that  you  will  become  a  good  Ameri 
can;  it  is  a  sentiment  worthy  of  virtuous  hearts.  The 
happiness  of  America  is  bound  to  that  of  all  humanity. 
It  is  going  to  become  the  respectable,  safe  asylum  of  vir 
tue,  tolerance,  equality,  and  peaceful  liberty."  Franklin 
admired  La  Fayette,  but  he  was  not  insensible  to  the 
tears  of  the  marquise;  he  assured  Congress  "that  the 
considerate  attention  and  respect  paid  to  La  Fayette 
would  give  pleasure  not  only  to  his  powerful  relatives  at 
the  Court,  but  to  the  whole  French  Nation";  and  then 
he  added:  "He  has  left  a  very  pretty  young  wife,  and 
out  of  consideration  for  her,  we  hope  that  his  courage 
and  ardent  desire  to  distinguish  himself  will  be  somewhat 
restrained  by  the  discretion  of  the  General,  so  that  he 
will  not  be  allowed  to  run  into  too  much  danger." 

The  Victoire  cast  anchor  June  I5th,  1777,  before 
Georgetown,  South  Carolina.  In  spite  of  their  letters 
and  regulations  (capitulations)  signed  by  Deane,  the 
President  of  Congress  did  not  receive  them.  An  in 
terpreter  met  them  in  the  street  and  made  them  the 
following  discouraging  speech:  "Gentlemen,  we  charged 
Mr.  Deane  to  send  us  four  engineers.  Instead  of  that, 
he  has  sent  us  Mr.  du  Coudray,  who  brought  with  him 
some  so-called  engineers,  but  they  do  not  know  anything 
about  it;  and  artillerymen  who  have  never  served.  .  .  . 
The  Frenchmen  have  come  without  our  asking  them. 
Last  year,  it  is  true  we  needed  officers;  but  this  year 
we  have  many,  and  some  of  them  very  experienced 
ones."  It  was  quite  evident  that  the  interpreter  thought 
he  had  before  him  some  of  those  troublesome  French 
officers  whom  the  governors  of  our  colonies  had  been 
in  the  habit  of  recommending  to  the  Americans  when 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE      25 

they  themselves  wanted  to  be  rid  of  them.  Du  Coudray 
was  ill  qualified  and  an  intriguer;  he  claimed  that  they 
were  to  remove  General  Knox,  commander  of  artillery, 
and  put  him  in  his  place.  Soon  after  he  lost  his  life  by 
drowning,  and  La  Fayette,  under  the  guise  of  a  eulogy, 
gave  you  to  infer  that  the  loss  of  this  blunderer  (broui- 
llori)  was  a  happy  accident. 

Many  of  these  Frenchmen  were  dismissed  with  thanks. 
Kalb  only  received  his  commission  at  the  end  of  a  year; 
La  Fayette's  services  were  accepted  "on  account  of 
his  illustrious  family  and  connections/'  His  commis 
sion,  however,  as  major-general  was  purely  honorary 
at  first;  Washington,  who  had  urged  Franklin  to  deter 
the  French  officers  from  coming  to  America,  did  not 
know,  for  a  while,  exactly  what  to  do  with  him. 

At  this  time  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  American 
army  was  having  untold  difficulties  in  the  reorganization 
and  maintenance  of  a  military  force;  any  one  else 
would  have  deemed  it  hopeless.  In  the  beginning  of  the 
war  the  soldiers  had  been  enlisted,  not  by  a  central 
government  which  did  not  then  exist,  but  by  the  respec 
tive  governments  of  each  colony  for  a  certain  length  of 
time  and  for  a  limited  object.  It  was  a  contract  in 
which  each  individual  considered  himself  an  interested 
party.  When,  in  1775,  they  presented  to  the  militia 
rules  prescribed  by  Congress  for  the  Continental  army, 
many  refused  to  subscribe  to  them.  "They  had  left 
their  fire-sides,"  said  Jared  Sparks,  "to  fight  for  liberty, 
and  they  desired,  first  of  all,  to  procure  it  for  them 
selves."  These  local  considerations  formed  a  consider 
able  disturbance.  It  was  necessary  to  see  that  each 
colony  had  its  just  proportion  of  officers,  according  to 
the  number  of  men  it  had  to  furnish.  This  discontent 
ment  and  the  intrigues  of  the  officers,  and  the  exacting 


26    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

disposition  and  undisciplined  habits  of  the  soldiers, 
caused  no  end  of  embarrassment. 

After  the  repulse  on  Long  Island,  August  27th,  1776, 
Washington  gave  this  report:  "The  militia,  desperate, 
unmanageable,  impatient,  have  returned  to  their  homes; 
they  have  deserted  by  whole  regiments."  They  were 
reduced  to  offering  to  these  precarious  contingents 
prizes  which  they  had  to  increase  in  value  continually; 
and  the  inequality  of  these  advantages  caused  "grum 
bling  and  jealousy/'  Washington  only  rendered  him 
self  justice  when,  on  December  2Oth,  he  recalled  to  Con 
gress  that  he  had  "always  endeavored  to  suppress  the 
sentiment  of  locality,  and  the  distinction  of  regions, — • 
giving  to  all  the  glorious  name  of  Americans."  He 
spoke  of  national  honor,  of  civic  virtue,  of  deliverance 
for  all,  to  men  who  were  little  accustomed  to  looking 
beyond  their  own  fields.  Washington  was  the  most 
zealous  of  the  noble-minded  men  who  from  that  time 
forth  were  conceiving  American  nationality.  If  the 
indomitable  idea  of  a  common  country  had  not  existed 
in  the  hearts  of  a  chosen  few,  who  persisted  in  trans 
forming  it  into  an  act,  America  would  never  have  existed. 
It  is  necessary  to  have  men  of  superior  intelligence  and 
will-power  to  direct  popular  activity  into  the  accomplish 
ment  of  great  designs  which  exact  tenacity  of  purpose 
and  heroic  patience  in  making  sacrifices. 

The  day  when  La  Fayette  was  presented  to  Washing 
ton,  at  a  dinner-party  in  Philadelphia,  where  there 
were  several  members  of  Congress  present,  the  general 
was  very  much  troubled.  He  felt  too  weak  to  give 
battle  to  Sir  William  Howe;  during  the  month  of  June 
he  had  manoeuvred  successfully  to  avoid  a  general 
engagement.  The  English  had  evacuated  the  Jerseys; 
but  Washington  knew  that  Burgoyne,  with  a  strong 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE      27 

army,  was  approaching  Fort  Ticonderoga,  at  the  south 
ern  end  of  Lake  Champlain,  which  touched  Canada  on 
the  north.  On  July  1st  the  position  was  taken  by  the 
English.  If  they  became  masters  of  the  course  of  the 
Hudson,  and  the  communication  with  Canada,  their 
main  object  would  be  attained :  the  colonies  of  the  East 
would  be  separated  from  those  of  the  South.  The 
movements  of  the  English  fleet  were  such  that  it  was 
impossible  to  know  whether  they  would  decide  to  go 
up  the  Hudson  in  order  to  act  in  concert  with  Burgoyne, 
or  whether  they  would  aid  the  designs  upon  Philadelphia 
by  Sir  William  Howe.  If  the  latter  case,  then  the  fleet 
was  to  be  seen  off  the  Delaware  Capes.  Washington 
had  left  the  army  at  Germantown,  and  had  just  come  to 
pass  a  few  days  with  Congress. 

"It  was  at  this  moment,"  says  Balch,  "that  his  heart 
was  plunged  into  the  deepest  despair;  and,  according 
to  his  own  words,  '  La  Fayette  came  to  dispel  his  sombre 
thoughts,  as  the  dawn  dispels  the  darkness  of  night/  ' 
It  is  very  probable  that  the  marquis  pleased  him  at 
once.  An  intuitive  sympathy  sprang  up  immediately 
between  these  two  men  so  different  in  race,  condition, 
and  age.  But  needless  to  say  that  the  first  combat 
had  to  take  place  before  Washington  could  judge  the 
value  of  this  young  enthusiast  and  the  quality  of  his 
courage. 

On  September  nth  the  unfortunate  encounter  at 
the  Brandywine  occurred.  In  a  letter  to  the  Duke 
d'Ayen,  La  Fayette  notes  the  event  as  follows:  "It 
was  learned  that  the  English  were  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Elk  River.  General  Washington  went  forward  to  meet 
them,  and  determined  to  await  their  coming  on  the 
heights  above  Brandywine  Creek.  On  September  nth, 


28     SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

the  English  came  to  attack  us,  and  while  they  were  enter 
taining  us  with  their  cannon  and  much  movement  in 
front,  the  larger  number  of  their  troops  made  a  detour 
in  order  to  pass  a  ford  four  miles  to  our  right.  The 
General  detached  his  whole  right  wing  so  as  to  meet 
them  there."  As  the  marquis  was  writing  to  his  father- 
in-law,  who  would  show  the  letter  to  the  marquise,  he 
did  not  disclose  here  an  action  on  his  part  which  would 
have  shown  him  too  prompt  to  expose  himself  to  danger; 
happily  for  us,  the  Memoires,  which  he  wrote  in  later 
years,  are  not  so  discreet.  His  place  was  near  Wash 
ington,  but  since  the  hardest  fighting  was  to  be  at  the 
right,  he  asked  and  obtained  permission  to  go  there. 
We  should  be  thankful  to  Washington  for  not  being  as 
careful  as  Franklin  would  have  him  for  the  safety  of 
La  Fayette.  When  the  right  wing  had  reached  the  ford 
the  enemy  had  passed  over  it;  then  it  became  necessary 
to  fight  in  the  open  plain.  According  to  the  Memoires 
of  Chastellux,  "The  enemy's  left  advanced,  with  as 
much  order  as  swiftness  and  courage.  (La  Fayette 
took  decidedly  too  small  a  part.)  The  Americans  kept 
up  a  rapid  firing,  but  the  English  came  straight  on; 
it  was  not  until  they  were  within  twenty  paces  of  them, 
however,  that  the  Americans  gave  way  and  rushed  to 
the  woods.  It  was  there  that  La  Fayette  was  wounded 
in  the  left  leg  while  he  was  engaged  in  trying  to  rally 
the  troops  that  were  beginning  to  disperse."  A  lucky 
wound,  for  it  thereby  created  so  much  envy  in  France 
that  it  decided  the  vocation  of  more  than  one  French 
man.  The  Moravian  Brothers  of  Bethlehem  gave  him 
excellent  care. 

On  the  evening  of  September  22d  Congress  left 
Philadelphia.  The  American  army  retreated  in  great 
disorder  through  a  blinding  storm  of  rain.  General 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE      29 

Howe  took  possession  of  the  city;  then  established  his 
army  near  Germantown.  Washington  attacked  him 
there  on  the  4th  of  October.  Meanwhile  the  marquis 
writes  pretty  letters  to  his  wife ;  he  taught  her  to  sustain 
the  morals  of  France  against  malicious  tongues  that 
would  predict  worse  things  from  this  defeat  of  the 
Americans.  "They  will  say  to  you:  *  Philadelphia  is 
taken,  the  Capital  of  America,  the  bulwark  of  liberty.' 
You  must  answer  politely:  'Oh,  it  is  only  a  poor  little 
town,  exposed  on  all  sides,  noted  because  the  Congress 
was  held  there;  it  will  soon  be  taken  back  again." 
In  the  same  spirit  Franklin  said  to  the  Parisians:  "The 
English  have  taken  Philadelphia?  I  think  it  is  just  the 
other  way,  Philadelphia  has  taken  the  English."  By 
this  same  letter  to  his  wife,  we  can  see  that  La  Fayette 
has  won  the  heart  of  Washington,  when  he  adds:  "We 
live  like  two  brothers — closely  united  in  intimacy  and 
mutual  confidences." 

If  La  Fayette  was  not  at  Germantown,  the  Chevalier 
Duplessis-Mauduit  was  there;  and  Chastellux,  who 
made  a  pilgrimage  to  all  these  sacred  places,  relates  with 
what  daring  and  gallantry  he  behaved:  "The  American 
troops  advanced  up  to  the  English  camp;  then,  they 
passed  through  it  under  the  command  of  General  Sul 
livan,  without  one  soldier  stopping  to  pillage;  and 
finally,  they  entered  Germantown.  Washington  at  the 
head  of  his  reserves,  had  started  up  the  principal  street, 
when  a  volley  of  musketry  came  from  a  large  mansion 
which  was  within  easy  gun-range  of  the  street ;  this  made 
the  advance  guard  come  to  a  sudden  halt.  Cannon 
was  necessary;  unluckily  they  had  only  six  pounders. 
Chevalier  Duplessis-Mauduit  had  two  pieces  placed 
near  another  house,  a  few  hundred  yards  from  the  first 
one.  This  cannon  had  little  or  no  effect ;  it  pierced  the 


30    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

walls  but  did  not  bring  down  the  house.  The  Chevalier 
then  decided  to  attack  this  house,  that  could  not  be 
destroyed  by  cannon,  at  closer  range.  He  proposed  to 
Colonel  Lawrens  to  take  with  him  some  trustworthy 
men,  and  go  to  a  barn  near  by  where  he  would  find  a 
pile  of  straw,  and  he  was  to  have  that  taken  to  the 
door  of  the  mansion  and  set  it  on  fire.  ...  De  Mau- 
duit,  supposing,  of  course,  that  they  were  following  him 
with  all  the  straw  in  the  barn,  went  to  a  window  on  the 
ground  floor,  broke  it  and  entered  a  room.  He  was 
received  a  little  like  the  lover  who  mounted  a  ladder  to 
see  his  mistress,  and  found  her  husband  waiting  for  him 
on  the  balcony.  I  do  not  know  if  they  asked  him,  also, 
what  he  was  doing  there,  and  he  innocently  answered: 
'Oh,  I  am  just  taking  a  walk';  but  what  I  do  know  is 
that  while  a  gallant  soldier  with  a  pistol  in  his  hand 
was  ordering  Mauduit  to  surrender,  another  less  gallant, 
entered  the  room  brusquely  and  fired  off  his  gun,  and 
it  struck,  not  De  Mauduit,  but  the  man  who  wanted 
to  take  him  prisoner.  After  these  slight  mistakes  in 
this  little  skirmish,  De  Mauduit  was  embarrassed  about 
retiring  from  the  scene.  On  one  side  of  the  house  he 
would  have  to  expose  himself  to  a  murderous  fire  from 
the  first  and  second  story  windows;  on  the  other  side, 
was  a  part  of  the  American  Army,  and  he  would  be  liable 
to  be  ridiculed  if  he  ran  back.  De  Mauduit,  like  a 
true  Frenchman,  preferred  to  expose  himself  to  death 
rather  than  to  ridicule;  the  bullets,  however,  respected 
our  prejudices,  and  he  returned  safe  and  sound;  while 
Lawrens,  who  was  in  no  greater  hurry,  escaped  with  a 
slight  wound  in  his  shoulder.11 

This  Mauduit  was  a  droll  fellow.  Segur  relates: 
"In  his  youth  he  had  a  dispute,  and  made  the  bet  of 
a  crown  (ecu)  upon  the  true  position  of  the  Athenian 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE      31 

Army,  and  that  of  the  Persians,  in  the  Battle  of  Plataea. 
As  he  was  both  poor  and  stubborn,  and  wished  to  verify 
the  fact  without  too  heavy  expense,  he  undertook  and 
accomplished  a  trip  on  foot  to  Greece."  This  was 
the  kind  of  man  to  go  alone  into  the  night  to  reconnoiter, 
and  take  the  stockades  and  the  enemy  trenches.  He 
carried  to  excess  his  love  of  liberty  and  equality;  he 
would  become  angry  when  they  called  him  "Monsieur," 
and  wished  to  be  known  simply  as  Thomas  Duplessis- 
Mauduit.  We  will  return  to  him  later. 

The  battle  of  Germantown  was  a  serious  defeat  for 
the  Americans:  1,000  men  killed,  wounded,  or  dispersed; 
General  Nash,  of  South  Carolina,  mortally  wounded;  a 
most  unfortunate  and  bloody  day.  But  the  country 
was  reassured  by  this  demonstration  of  the  ardor  of  the 
troops  "and  of  the  energy  and  confidence  of  the  com 
mander  which  never  wavered."  The  Count  de  Ver- 
gennes,  the  day  he  received  the  American  Commissioners 
to  talk  about  a  treaty  of  alliance,  declared  "that  nothing 
was  more  impressive  to  him,  than  to  see  General  Wash 
ington  attack  the  army  of  General  Howe,  and  give  him 
battle ;  and  that  to  have  accomplished  so  much  with  an 
army,  raised  within  the  year,  promised  everything  for 
the  future."  Chastellux  notes  "that  the  English  army 
found  itself  in  peculiar  position;  it  had  bought  and 
maintained  the  possession  of  Philadelphia  at  the  price 
of  two  hard  fought  battles;  but  it  remained  enclosed 
between  the  Schuylkill  and  the  Delaware  Rivers,  with 
the  army  of  Washington  holding  it  in  abeyance  in  front, 
and  behind  it  were  several  forts  occupied  by  Americans, 
which  blocked  its  passage  to  the  Delaware  in  this  direc 
tion." 

But  it  was  far  from  there,  on  the  banks  of  the  upper 
Hudson,  in  a  country  desolate  and  almost  impossible 


32     SOLDIERS  AND   SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

of  access,  cut  with  deep  ravines  and  covered  with  thick 
woods,  that  now  occurs  the  great  and  brilliant  event 
which  alone,  in  the  judgment  of  public  opinion,  decided 
the  situation  of  the  royal  government.  Gates,  the 
American  general,  had  chosen  his  position  well  upon 
the  highlands  called  Bemis  Heights.  Burgoyne  tried 
in  vain  to  take  his  intrenchments.  The  militia  of  New 
Hampshire,  Vermont,  and  Massachusetts,  under  the 
command  of  General  Stark,  overcame  the  Germans 
under  Riedesel.  In  vain  Burgoyne,  on  October  2d, 
without  news  of  Clinton,  tried  to  turn  the  American 
left  by  his  advance-guard.  Arnold  and  Lincoln  raised 
the  enemy  trenches;  Chastellux  saw  the  place  where 
Arnold  "jumped  the  intrenchment  on  horseback.  This 
was  a  kind  of  parapet  made  with  the  trunks  of  trees 
piled  upon  one  another.  It  was  a  fierce  combat;  as 
the  pine-trees  torn  by  the  bullets  and  cannon  bear  wit 
ness.'*  On  the  1 7th  of  October  Burgoyne  surrendered 
at  Saratoga ;  he  had  no  bread.  Gates  had  already  taken 
two  thousand  prisoners.  Six  thousand  men  were  dis 
armed.  This  troop  of  gilt-trimmed  uniforms  defiled 
before  Gates  and  his  officers  who  were  clad  in  gray,  and 
crossed  the  rebel  country  to  go  and  take  up  their  winter 
quarters  at  Boston.  Gates,  undisciplined  soldier  that 
he  was,  rendered  an  account  of  his  victory,  not  to 
the  commander-in-chief,  but  to  Congress.  "If  our  cause 
triumphs,"  said  Washington,  "it  matters  not  to  me 
where  or  how  we  gain  it." 

While  this  glorious  news  is  carried  to  the  Ministry 
of  Foreign  Affairs  in  France,  arriving  there  on  the 
5th  of  December,  1777,  let  us  remain  with  the  combat 
ants.  It  was  upon  October  22d  that  occurred  the 
heroic  defense  of  Red  Bank  upon  the  Delaware  by 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE      33 

Duplessis-Mauduit.  He  took  Chastellux  to  see  the 
place  in  December,  1780.  There,  still,  within  a  short 
distance  of  the  guns  of  the  fort,  lived  a  Quaker  a  little 
inclined  to  Toryism;  Mauduit  had  been  obliged  "to 
tear  down  his  barn  and  cut  his  fruit  trees."  He  flattered 
himself,  however,  that  he  would  be  made  welcome  on 
account  of  La  Fayette.  The  Quaker,  seated  near  the 
fire  cleaning  some  herbs,  never  deigned  to  raise  his  eyes 
to  his  visitors;  neither  compliments  nor  jokes  persuaded 
him  to  talk.  Mauduit  consoled  himself  by  telling 
Chastellux  how,  with  300  men  and  14  pieces  of  cannon, 
he  had  held  2,500  Hessians  at  bay.  First,  he  had  to 
reduce  the  earth-works,  which  the  Americans,  with  but 
little  knowledge  in  the  art  of  making  fortifications,  had 
extended  too  far.  The  Hessians  summoned  him  to 
surrender,  warning  him  at  the  same  time  that  if  he 
persisted  in  fighting,  that  there  would  be  no  quarter 
given  either  to  him  or  his  men;  Mauduit  refused,  willing 
to  take  the  consequences.  "When  the  enemy  troops 
reached  the  abatis,  where  they  had  to  tear  away  and 
cut  the  branches,  they  were  welcomed  by  a  hail  of  bul 
lets  which  caught  them  on  the  front  and  sides/'  There 
chanced  to  be  a  part  of  the  old  wall  of  intrenchment 
that  had  escaped  destruction,  and  it  formed  a  salient 
where  it  was  cut  off;  Mauduit  had  the  idea  of  using  this 
for  a  shelter,  and  he  put  a  number  of  men  in  it,  who  fired 
at  the  left  flank  of  the  enemy  at  close  range.  '  The  offi 
cers  were  seen  to  rally  their  soldiers,  return  to  the  abatis, 
and  fall  into  the  midst  of  the  branches  and  underbrush 
which  they  were  forced  to  cut  away.  Colonel  Donop 
could  be  distinguished  by  his  fine  face  and  courage,  and 
the  order  he  wore;  he  was  seen  to  fall  with  the  rest." 
Finally,  the  Hessians  stopped  fighting  and  "fled  to  the 
woods  in  disorder."  Mauduit  made  a  sortie,  with  a 


34     SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

detachment  of  troops,  to  reconstruct  the  fortifications; 
it  was  then  that  he  saw,  "as  well  as  the  darkness  of 
the  night  would  permit,"  first,  twenty  Hessians  " stand 
ing  on  the  berme  (a  narrow  place  between  a  parapet  and 
a  ditch)  clinging  to  the  talus  or  slope  of  the  parapet," 
who  had  had  the  courage  to  go  this  far,  but  dared  not 
retreat;  then,  he  came  upon  "the  deplorable  spectacle 
of  the  dead  and  dying  heaped  upon  one  another."  From 
this  death  pile  came  a  voice  and  it  spoke  in  English: 
"Whoever  you  are  drag  me  out  of  this."  It  was  Colonel 
Donop,  and  his  hip  was  broken.  "Very  well,"  muttered 
the  Americans,  "is  it  decided  that  there  will  be  no  quar 
ter?"  "I  am  in  your  hands,  you  can  take  your  re 
venge,"  answered  the  colonel.  De  Mauduit  did  not 
have  much  trouble  in  imposing  silence  on  his  men,  and 
concerned  himself  only  with  the  care  of  the  wounded 
man,  who,  perceiving  that  he  did  not  speak  English  well, 
said:  "Sir,  you  seem  to  be  a  stranger,  who  are  you?" 
"A  French  officer,"  replied  De  Mauduit.  "Then  I  am 
satisfied,"  answered  Donop,  "for  I  am  dying  in  the 
arms  of  honor  itself."  Mauduit  conducted,  in  person, 
fifteen  wounded  officers  to  Philadelphia,  where  they 
were  well  received  by  General  Howe.  The  news  of 
the  battle  of  Saratoga  had  just  reached  them.  "Speak 
frankly,"  said  the  English  officers,  "you  who  are  a 
Frenchman,  is  it  possible?"  "I  know  that  it  is  true," 
responded  Mauduit,  "you  can  explain  it  as  you  like." 

One  month  afterward,  on  November  26th,  La  Fayette, 
who  had  not  waited  to  be  cured  of  his  wound  before 
rejoining  the  army,  reported  to  Washington  his  little 
"success"  of  the  evening  before  at  Gloucester.  The 
forts  of  the  Delaware,  in  spite  of  the  splendid  defense 
of  Mauduit  and  another  Frenchman,  Colonel  Fleury 
of  the  regiment  of  Rouergue,  had  to  be  evacuated. 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE      35 

Lord  Cornwallis  with  5,000  men  had  passed  into  the 
Jerseys,  held  by  as  many  Americans  under  General 
Greene.  La  Fayette,  who  could  not  remain  inactive, 
after  having  passed  part  of  the  day  watching  the  enemy, 
at  nightfall  decided  to  take  a  little  "ride"  (se  promener) 
on  the  road  to  Gloucester.  He  started  out  with  "ten 
cavalrymen,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  riflemen  under 
Colonel  Butler,  and  two  piquets  of  militia  commanded 
by  Colonels  Hite  and  Ellis:  all  told  there  were  hardly 
three  hundred  men." 

We  find  La  Fayette  in  good  company,  for  he  had  with 
him  Mauduit,  Gimat,  Colonel  Lamoy,  and  Colonel 
Armand.  The  latter  was  the  famous  Marquis  de  la 
Rouerie,  who  had  taken  the  name  of  Armand  after 
his  duel  with  the  Count  de  Dreux-Breze,  that  had 
cost  him  his  rank  in  the  French  Guards.  Since  May 
loth,  1777,  Congress  had  conferred  upon  him  the  rank 
of  colonel,  with  the  commission  to  raise  a  force  of  200 
French  sympathizers.  Chastellux  met  him  later,  at 
Monticello,  Jefferson's  home,  with  his  wolf — a  young 
wolf  with  glossy  fur,  almost  black,  and  as  gentle  and 
playful  as  a  puppy — which  he  amused  himself  training, 
and  which  even  had  the  privilege  of  sleeping  in  bed 
with  him;  then  there  was  Chateaubriand,  who  rivalled 
Lauzun  in  conquests  and  unfortunate  love-affairs,  and 
More  de  Pontgibaud,  who  asserted  that  he  would  join 
the  Trappists  because  of  his  despair  at  his  non-success  in 
winning  the  heart  of  Mile,  de  Beaumont  of  the  Opera. 

About  two  and  a  half  miles  from  Gloucester,  the 
marquis,  with  his  goodly  company  of  French  compan 
ions  and  his  American  escort,  suddenly  ran  into  a  troop 
of  350  Hessians  with  cannon.  The  marquis  and  his 
company  attacked  them  so  vigorously  that  they  were 
forced  to  retreat,  in  spite  of  being  reinforced  by  the 


36    SOLDIERS  AND   SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

English  who  came  up  and  joined  in  the  fight.  Result: 
twenty  of  the  enemy  killed  or  wounded  and  fourteen 
taken  prisoners.  A  small  engagement  of  not  much  im 
portance,  but  La  Fayette  had  never  seen  men  "as 
gay  and  eager  to  get  at  the  enemy,  no  matter  what  his 
strength,  as  were  our  soldiers  in  this  little  clash  of  arms." 
The  American  militia  was  much  pleased  with  this  ex 
ploit. 

Upon  the  same  day  that  the  report  of  the  marquis 
about  the  skirmish  was  received,  Washington  requested 
Congress  to  give  him  the  command  of  a  division,  and 
immediately  La  Fayette  was  made  commander  of  the 
division  of  the  Continental  army,  "which  had  been 
previously  commanded  by  General  Stephen,  who  had 
been  dismissed.  .  .  ."  The  campaign  was  ended  and 
the  British  plan  had  failed:  the  colonies  of  the  East 
remained  in  communication  with  those  of  the  South, 
while  Burgoyne's  army  was  imprisoned  and  maintained 
at  the  expense  of  the  republic.  And  now  we  find 
Clinton  calmly  holding  the  garrison  at  New  York, 
and  General  Howe  paying  court  to  the  belles  of  Phila 
delphia,  while  the  American  army,  with  its  forces  much 
weakened,  nearly  naked,  living  in  huts  made  of  branches 
of  trees,  its  only  shelter  against  the  cold,  hard  winter 
of  Pennsylvania,  was  trying  to  re-form,  recruit,  and  find 
clothing.  The  misery  that  was  endured  in  the  camp  at 
Valley  Forge  can  never  be  forgotten.  The  soldiers, 
unshod,  left  bloody  traces  in  the  snow,  and  barely 
escaped  dying  of  hunger.  Washington,  their  heroic 
commander,  a  man  of  tender  heart,  gave  the  following 
account  to  Congress  of  these  troops:  "Their  extreme 
patience  and  fidelity  cannot  be  too  much  admired; 
it  is  astonishing  that  their  sufferings  have  not  made 
them  all  rebels  and  deserters.1' 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE      37 

France  had  her  eyes  fixed  on  the  victorious  Americans 
of  the  battle  of  Saratoga;  and  she  was  also  watching 
the  man  whom  La  Fayette  says  now,  "is  worthy  of 
the  adoration  of  his  country.'* 


CHAPTER  III 

TREATY  OF  COMMERCE  AND   FRIENDSHIP — EVENTS 
OF  THE  WINTER  AND   SPRING  OF    1778 

Let  us  pass  over  many  incidents  and  pause  only  at 
this  one:  that  at  the  end  of  October,  1777,  Vergennes 
realized  the  necessity  of  declaring  his  intentions.  No 
more  concessions  to  Lord  Stormont.  Against  the  in 
sinuations  of  English  diplomacy  he  had  to  raise  a  wall 
of  steel  and  keep  himself  strictly  behind  it.  In  order  that 
attention  should  be  drawn  to  the  requisitions  of  the 
English  Ambassador,  who  again  presented,  on  Novem 
ber  3d,  at  Versailles,  an  enormous  list  of  ships  that 
were  being  freighted  for  America  clandestinely,  it  was 
not  necessary  that  Lord  Sandwich  should  go  before  the 
English  Parliament  and  threaten  the  near  approach 
of  the  time  when  England  would  exact  reparations  for 
all  the  insults  she  had  received  from  France  and  Spain. 
"Let  us  engrave  this  fatal  oracle  in  indelible  characters," 
said  Vergennes.  "Let  us  try  not  to  be  taken  unawares, 
.  .  .  not  to  be  surprised." 

On  the  other  hand,  Vergennes  began  to  feel  the  im 
patience  of  the  Americans;  he  knew  that  the  modera 
tors — those  that  governed  this  new  nation — had  need  of 
"much  art  and  even  artifice"  to  uphold  its  enthusiasm, 
and  that  the  most  effective  means  had  been  to  repre 
sent  France  and  Spain  as  engaged  in  aiding  its  cause. 
Now  this  means  was  about  worn  out.  To  tell  the 
truth,  Spain  was  indifferent  to  the  fate  of  America. 
If  France  did  not  dare  (restrained  by  the  Family  Com- 

38 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE      39 

pact)  to  take  sides  with  her  first,  and  alone,  America 
would  think  that  the  house  of  Bourbon  had  no  other 
interest  in  this  war  but  the  ruin  of  Great  Britain;  and 
America  would  therefore  fall  back  in  despair  into  the 
arms  of  the  mother  country.  All  these  considerations 
appeared  more  important  when  it  was  learned  that 
Saratoga  had  capitulated.  Would  not  England  con 
cede  independence  to  such  robust  sons?  And  then 
France  would  not  have  the  glory,  before  any  other 
power,  of  recognizing  this  new  nation,  of  introducing 
American  sovereignty  into  the  league  of  nations.  There 
was  not  a  moment  to  lose., 

On  December  i8th  Gerard,  Chief  Secretary  of  Foreign 
Affairs,  carried  to  Franklin,  Deane,  and  Arthur  Lee, 
in  their  house  in  Passy,  a  royal  message:  "It  must  be 
recalled  to  Franklin,  this  monument  of  wisdom,  of 
unostentatious  generosity,  that,  united  to  the  senti 
ment  of  Royal  and  National  dignity,  there  was  a  sense 
of  justice  about  the  present  state  of  affairs,  and  a  strong 
feeling  of  sincerity."  His  Majesty  "did  not  intend  to 
take  advantage  of  the  present  condition  of  the  Ameri 
cans  to  obtain  from  them  covenants  that  it  would  not 
be  agreeable  for  them  to  make  with  any  other  country. 
.  .  .  Consequently,  he  intended  to  have  the  terms 
such  as  we  [the  Americans]  would  consent  to  volun 
tarily,  as  if  we  had  been  established  a  long  time,  and 
were  in  the  full  possession  of  our  power."  France  had 
resolved  to  sustain  American  independence  by  every 
possible  means,  the  only  condition  being  "that  America 
could  not,  in  concluding  any  peace  with  England,  re 
nounce  her  independence  and  return  to  the  domina 
tion  of  the  English."  The  commissioners  replied  that 
his  Majesty  would  find  true  allies  in  the  New  World; 
and  as  they  observed  that  republics  were  generally 


40     SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

faithful  to  their  engagements,  Gerard  remarked  that 
the  King  was  accustomed,  also,  to  keep  his  treaties  with 
republics :  witness  the  Swiss  cantons,  with  whom  he  had 
just  renewed  an  alliance  two  centuries  old. 

Negotiations  were  proceeding  marvellously  well,  when 
the  Elector  of  Bavaria  died.  Was  France  now  going  to 
be  engulfed  in  the  affairs  of  Germany?  No,  for  Ver- 
gennes  took  good  care  to  keep  away  from  them.  Of 
course  France  could  not  see  without  displeasure  "her 
dear  ally,"  Joseph  II,  take  a  menacing  position,  and 
seize  the  course  of  the  Danube  and  the  better  part  of 
Bavaria.  But  it  was  necessary  to  make  a  choice.  Ver- 
gennes  refused  to  grant  the  wish  of  the  King  of  Prussia, 
who  would  have  liked  to  form  an  alliance  with  us  (se 
combiner  avec  nous).  At  Teschen,  Vergennes  reconciled 
Austria  and  Prussia.  He  had  eyes  only  for  America. 
Frederick  II  gained  what  he  wanted;  and  afterward 
he  was  greatly  praised  by  Bancroft,  an  American  his 
torian,  strangely  inspired  and  better  metaphysician 
than  historian.  Bancroft's  idea  was  "that  there  was  a 
pre-established  harmony  between  the  greatness  of  Prussia 
and  that  of  the  United  States ;  and  Frederick  was  quite 
right  not  to  subordinate  to  the  '  conveniences  of  another 
hemisphere*  the  immediate  interests  of  Prussia.  The 
United  States  would  win  at  last."  Happily  for  America, 
Vergennes  did  not  reason  like  Doctor  Pangloss,  whom 
Bancroft  was  emulating. 

Of  the  harmony  that  France  applied  herself  to  es 
tablish  in  this  discordant  world,  she  had  a  more  positive, 
and  at  the  same  time  a  more  disinterested,  notion.  The 
fundamental  principle  of  the  Treaty  of  Alliance  and 
Friendship  signed  February  6th,  1778,  was,  according 
to  the  preliminary  articles,  "that  of  the  most  perfect 
equality  and  reciprocity.  The  commercial  and  other 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE      41 

privileges  are  mutual,  and  not  one  of  them  is  accorded 
to  France  that  ive  [the  Americans]  would  not  be  at  liberty 
to  grant  to  any  other  nation."  The  American  Commis 
sioners  were  authorized  by  Congress  to  make  exclusive 
concessions  to  France.  But  Vergennes  said  "that  the 
King  wished  to  make  a  substantial  treaty  that  would 
last  for  all  time,  .  .  .  pass  on  to  posterity."  As  Doniol 
well  expresses  it:  "This  was  an  open  compact  wherein 
all  nations  could  join,*'  even  England  herself.  The  atti 
tude  of  France  ruled  that  of  Europe.  And  this  attitude 
was  demanded  by  her  for  a  people  of  a  government 
born  but  yesterday,  "temporary,  without  rules,  and 
much  more  besides."  Louis  XVI  knew  what  he  was 
doing.  Vergennes  does  not  lead  us  to  believe  that  he 
yielded  to  his  ministers.  "The  evidence  of  the  facts, 
his  own  convictions  were  the  sole  reasons  that  prompted 
him  to  do  it:  the  King  gave  courage  to  all  of  us,"  said 
the  Minister.  "In  the  future,  by  our  making  closer  al 
liances  with  the  King  of  Prussia,  and  by  so  doing,  open 
ing  "relations  with  such  countries  as  Russia,  England 
would  soon  be  surrounded  by  a  league  of  neutrals  against 
her  maritime  domination,  and  France  would  be  giving 
to  her  allies  the  support  of  those  governments  that  were 
the  most  capable  of  taking  care  of  the  cause  and  serving 


in  its  success." 


On  February  I4th,  1778,  for  the  first  time  in  French 
waters,  in  the  harbor  of  Quiberon,  the  flag  of  the  fleur- 
de-lis  received  the  salute  from  the  starry  banner.  It 
was  Paul  Jones,  the  commodore,  who  saluted  La  Motte- 
Piquet.  To  his  thirteen  salutes,  according  to  the  usage 
established  in  regard  to  the  admirals  of  Holland,  the 
royal  squadron  returned  nine.  "The  French  officers," 
writes  Paul  Jones,  "are  extremely  kind  and  polite; 
they  have  visited  my  ship  and  say  that  she  is  a  perfect 


42     SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

jewel.  They  themselves  received  us  on  board  their 
ship  with  every  mark  of  pleasure  and  consideration, 
and  welcomed  us  with  illuminations.  Their  attentions 
were  carried  to  such  an  extent  that  if  they  were  not 
sincere,  then  they  surely  knew  well  how  to  dissemble." 

On  Thursday,  March  iQth,  the  American  deputies 
were  presented  to  the  King  by  Vergennes,  with  a  cer 
tain  amount  of  etiquette,  but  not  with  the  same  pom 
pous  ceremonial  of  accredited  Ambassadors.  "Doctor 
Franklin,"  as  the  Anecdotes  state,  "appeared  at  Ver 
sailles  before  the  King.  He  was  accompanied  and  fol 
lowed  by  a  number  of  Americans,  and  all  kinds  of  per 
sons  who  were  attracted  by  curiosity."  Madame  du 
Deffand  wrote  to  Walpole:  "  There  were  about  twenty 
insurgents,  two  or  three  were  in  uniform."  The  doctor's 
age,  simplicity  of  his  costume,  his  whole  appearance,  as 
Madame  du  Deffand  describes  it — "a  coat  of  reddish 
brown  velvet,  white  stockings,  hair  flowing,  spectacles 
upon  his  nose,  and  his  hat  under  his  arm" — all  that 
was  unusual  and  peculiar  in  the  life  of  this  American, 
attracted  the  attention  of  the  public  more  and  more. 
He  was  continually  applauded,  and  everything  done  in 
connection  with  him  showed  that  enthusiastic  imagina 
tion  that  the  French  have  more  than  any  other  people, 
and  that  politeness  and  kindliness  which  magnify  the 
charms  of  the  person  who  is  the  object  of  their  adulation. 
His  Majesty  said  to  him:  "Assure  the  United  States 
of  America  of  my  friendship;  I  am  particularly  well 
satisfied  with  the  way  that  you  have  conducted  yourself 
in  my  kingdom."  The  deputies  dined  at  the  table  with 
Vergennes.  In  the  evening,  at  cards,  Marie  Antoinette 
asked  Franklin  to  be  seated  near  her,  and  was  very 
gracious  to  him. 

The  King  desired  the  terms  of  the  treaty,  if  not  the 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE      43 

treaty  itself,  to  be  published,  and  to  reach  America 
as  speedily  as  possible.  The  last  of  February  the  text 
of  the  treaty  became  known  in  Boston ;  and  one  of  our 
most  ardent  and  clever  friends,  Pastor  Samuel  Cooper, 
read  the  preliminaries  from  his  pulpit.  Congress  re 
ceived  it,  officially,  at  York,  Pennsylvania,  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Susquehanna,  where  it  had  retired  after 
Philadelphia  was  taken  by  the  British.  We  quote  the 
memorable  words  here  used  upon  the  occasion  of  its 
reception  by  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs  and  ad 
dressed  to  Franklin  and  Deane: 

"We  admire  the  wisdom  and  true  dignity  of  the 
Court  of  France,  on  their  part  of  the  construction  and 
ratification  of  the  treaties  between  us.  They  have  a 
powerful  tendency  to  dissolve  effectually  that  narrow 
ness  of  mind,  which  mankind  have  been  too  unhappily 
bred  up  in.  Those  treaties  discover  the  politician 
founded  on  the  philosopher,  and  a  harmony  of  affections 
make  the  groundwork  of  mutual  interest.  France  has 
won  us  more  powerfully  than  any  reserved  treaties  could 
possibly  bind  us,  and  by  one  generous  and  noble  act  has 
sown  the  seeds  of  an  eternal  friendship.19 

Washington  could  not  be  informed  except  through 
Congress.  It  is  on  May  6th  that  he  refers  to  it  in  his 
order  of  the  day:  "The  all-powerful  Sovereign  of  the 
Universe  having  desired  to  protect  the  cause  of  the 
United  States  of  America,  and  to  procure  for  us  a  formi 
dable  ally  among  the  sovereigns  of  the  earth,  so  as  to 
found  our  liberty  and  independence  upon  a  durable 
basis,  it  is  our  duty  to  set  aside  a  day  to  render  thanks 
to  Divine  Providence,  and  celebrate  the  important 
event  that  we  owe  to  heavenly  intervention.  ..." 
Joy  was  intense  at  the  camp  of  Valley  Forge:  bon 
fires,  firing  of  musketry,  salvoes  of  artillery,  concerts 


44    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

and  toasts,  hurrahs  and  cheerings  in  honor  of  the 
King  of  France.  The  rejoicing  was  as  great  as  it  pos 
sibly  could  be  in  the  spring,  and  with  an  army  ready  to 
go  on  a  campaign.  And  the  white  scarf  of  La  Fayette 
could  be  seen  passing  from  bonfire  to  bonfire. 

With  La  Fayette  at  Valley  Forge  we  perceive  Cheva 
lier  More  de  Pontgibaud,  who  at  nineteen  had  just 
escaped  from  the  donjon-tower  of  Pierre-en-Cise,  a 
most  perilous  exploit.  His  family  had  incarcerated 
him  there  because  he  had  "a  violent  and  ferocious  tem 
per,  and  would  not  apply  himself  to  any  vocation." 
He  was  really  incorrigible ;  and  tired  of  contending  with 
him,  they  put  him  on  board  a  ship — the  Arc-en-ciel — 
at  Nantes  which  was  bound  for  America.  This  was 
his  dream;  he  could  not  have  been  better  pleased.  The 
ship  ran  into  a  frightful  storm  off  the  Bermudas;  then 
she  was  chased  by  an  English  corsair,  and  finally  ended 
in  running  aground  at  the  mouth  of  the  James  River, 
near  the  Isis,  an  English  ship,  which  pillaged  her  com 
pletely.  Pontgibaud  saved  ten  louis  d'or,  and  set  out  in 
the  direction  of  Williamsburg,  the  capital  of  Virginia, 
feeling  sure  that  with  the  army,  at  least,  he  would  not 
starve.  "My  path  led  me  through  forests;  I  did  not 
know  what  I  would  find  there,  whether  bear,  panthers 
or  rattle-snakes.  I  had  this  perspective  in  view  from 
the  travels  I  had  read  while  I  was  in  prison."  (Did 
Pontgibaud  know  that  the  flag  of  the  Union  had  borne,  for 
some  time,  the  emblem  of  a  snake  with  thirteen  rattles?} 

At  Williamsburg  he  learned  that  La  Fayette  was  at 
Valley  Forge.  He  had  to  walk  eighty  miles,  "with  a 
sort  of  passport"  given  him  by  Jefferson,  then  Governor 
of  Virginia,  in  which  he  was  "recommended  to  the  kind 
ness  of  the  persons  he  would  meet  on  his  way."  He  did 


SOLDIERS  AND   SAILORS  OF  FRANCE      45 

not  know  a  word  of  English;  but  the  forest  was  alive 
with  little  beings  with  whom  he  soon  made  friends ;  there 
were  no  wild  beasts,  but  birds  whose  shining  plumage 
he  admired;  and  especially  thousands  and  thousands 
of  little  squirrels  (those  lively  little  squirrels,  who  are  so 
familiar,  like  the  swallows  in  Paris ;  they  abound  in  the 
public  gardens  of  Richmond,  Little  Rock,  and  many 
other  Southern  cities).  And  here  is  a  last  touch  to 
Pontgibaud's  character.  He  adds:  "They  seemed  as 
though  they  were  accompanying  the  triumphal  prog 
ress  of  a  young  warrior  marching  to  glory.  I  imagined 
I  saw  the  entrance  of  the  Ballet  at  the  Opera."  This 
shows  a  foolish  imagination,  still  childlike,  but  beneath 
it  all  there  is  a  deep  courage  and  a  flow  of  spirits  that 
is  going  to  end  in  heroism  and  win  the  hearts  of  the 
Americans. 

Our  handsome  chevalier  is  also  going  to  discover  to 
what  extent  we  were  unknown  and  misunderstood. 
One  day,  at  the  home  of  a  farmer,  he  had  this  peculiar 
dialogue:  "I  am  very  glad  that  I  have  a  Frenchman  in 
the  house,"  said  the  farmer.  Pontgibaud  pleasantly 
asked  him  the  reason  for  this  preference.  He  replied: 
"Well,  the  barber  lives  a  long  distance  from  here,  and 
you  can  shave  me."  "Eh!  I  do  not  know  how  to 
shave  myself.  My  servant  does  that  for  me;  but  he 
can  shave  you  too,  if  you  like."  "That  is  strange," 
said  the  farmer  again,  "we  have  been  told  that  all 
Frenchmen  are  either  barbers  or  fiddlers."  There 
upon  the  man  noticed  that  with  the  chevalier's  rations 
there  was  a  large  piece  of  beef.  "How  glad  you  must 
be,  Monsieur,  to  come  over  and  eat  beef  in  America!" 
"I  assure  you  we  have  just  as  good  in  France;  in  fact, 
most  excellent  meat."  "That  is  impossible,  sir,"  he 
continued;  "if  that  were  true,  then  you  would  not  be 


46    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

so  thin."  Admiral  d'Estaing  also  claimed  that  it  was 
difficult  to  convince  the  Puritans  of  New  England  that 
we  were  not  "a  thin  people  always  dancing." 

La  Fayette  graciously  welcomed  this  charming  ad 
venturer.  He  did  well,  in  spite  of  Washington,  who 
rather  reproached  him,  at  the  time,  for  not  being  able 
to  refuse  the  way  to  his  heart  to  any  of  his  compatriots. 
While  Pontgibaud  is  waiting  to  be  admitted,  with  the 
brevet  of  major,  to  the  rank  of  Washington's  aides-de 
camp,  he  observes  this  astonishing  army,  with  its  bi 
zarre  equipment.  However,  he  has  not  yet  suffered 
with  it.  "How  strange  they  look,  these  soldiers,  who 
wear,  instead  of  cloaks  or  overcoats,  blankets  of  coarse 
wool  which  actually  resemble  those  for  the  sick  in  the 
hospitals  of  France,  and  I  notice  some  who  put  under 
their  hats  a  night-cap."  A  little  later  he  will  recognize 
these  men  as  officers. 

All  of  these  officers  are  pointed  out  to  film,  and  he 
learns  their  names.  "They  surround  Washington,  a  man 
of  tall  stature,  superb  figure,  kind  language,  benevo 
lent  expression.  These  are  the  officers:  Gates,  the  vic 
tor  at  Saratoga,  a  simple,  quiet  man  who  already  be 
longed  to  history;  the  farmer  who  had  become  a  soldier, 
and  with  his  wool  cap  upon  his  head,  surmounted  by  a 
farmer's  hat,  had  recently  received  the  sword  of  the 
brilliant  General  Burgoyne  in  full  dress  uniform,  and 
coat  decorated  with  English  Orders: — Arnold,  who 
remained  lame  for  the  rest  of  his  life  from  a  wound  he 
received  at  the  Battle  of  Saratoga: — Sullivan,  lawyer 
before  the  war: — Colonel  Hamilton,  Washington's  friend, 
who,  when  the  war  was  over,  opened  an  office  in  Phila 
delphia  and  practised  law, — the  strong  and  intelligent 
mind  [Pontgibaud  forgets  to  add]  who  put  into  execu 
tion  and  maintained  the  salutary  doctrine  of  Federal- 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE      47 

ism: — General  Stark,  a  free-holder  who  distinguished 
himself: — The  brave  General  Knox,  a  man  who  had  had 
a  book  store  before  he  became  a  general  of  artillery. 
He  passed,  suddenly,  from  a  simple  citizen  to  the  diffi 
cult  duties  of  a  military  chief  and  fills  this  position 
equally  as  well."  Chastellux,  a  wiser  man,  judges  more 
justly:  "These  generals  certainly  have  been  improvised, 
but  they  are  not  'the  workmen  and  shop-keepers'  that 
far-away  Europe  imagines:  Knox  was  prepared  for 
his  position  through  the  importance  of  the  negotiations 
that  he  had  organized  and  directed  for  some  years;  he 
was  not  'a  Boston  bookseller';  books  were  a  small 
part,  perhaps,  of  his  vast  business."  Those  whom 
Pontgibaud  called  "farmers"  were  gentlemen  free 
holders,  and  through  their  previous  education  they  were 
able  to  read  with  profit  (the  experience  of  war  aiding 
them)  the  best  works  on  tactics;  notably,  the  famous 
treatise  by  Guibert,  dedicated  to  the  nation,  of  which 
General  Heath  made  particular  use. 

Again,  the  good  Pontgibaud  deceives  himself,  un 
fortunately,  in  regard  to  the  simplicity  or  the  greatness 
of  certain  of  these  men.  Arnold  was  much  more  than 
a  "horse-dealer"  (maquignori) ;  but  in  two  years  he  be 
trayed  his  country.  And  Gates  had  such  a  high  opinion 
of  his  own  merits,  he  made  so  bold  as  to  try  and  usurp 
the  place  of  Washington.  And  Lee  could  not  be  trusted. 

La  Fayette  knew  it  well.  Loyal  and  devoted  to 
Washington,  he  followed  the  intrigues  of  the  cabal  Gates- 
Mifflin-Conway.  "  I  wish,"  he  writes  to  the  commander- 
in-chief  with  tender  admiration,  "that  you  could  be 
able  to  judge,  as  I  do,  the  difference  between  you  and 
all  other  men;  you  would  then  see  clearly  that  if  you 
were  lost  to  America,  no  one  could  hold  the  army  and 
maintain  the  Revolution  for  six  months."  Washing- 


48    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

ton's  last  campaign  had  not  been  successful.  But 
Gates,  on  the  contrary,  infatuated  with  his  success, 
impressed  Congress  "by  his  manner  and  promises,  and 
his  European  acquaintances."  And  then  there  was 
Lee  (still  held  prisoner  by  the  English,  but  was  going  to 
be  exchanged  with  General  Prescott) ,  who  had  the  pres 
tige  of  his  service  in  Europe — "an  English  colonel,  a 
Polish  general,  companion  in  arms  of  the  Portuguese 
and  Russians,  Lee  knew  all  the  countries,  had  seen  all 
service,  and  could  speak  several  languages."  "Ugly, 
sarcastic,  ambitious  and  mercenary,"  is  La  Fayette's 
report  of  him;  "he  hates  the  General."  Mifflin,  the 
quartermaster-general,  had  joined  the  Gates  party. 
Among  the  deputies  who  adhered  to  this  party,  and 
distinguished  themselves  for  their  bitter  persecution  of 
Washington,  were  such  persons  as  the  Lees,  like  himself 
Virginians,  and  the  two  Adamses  of  Massachusetts. 
They  had  to  have  an  agitator,  so  Con  way,  an  Irishman, 
formerly  in  the  service  of  France,  was  selected. 

This  same  Conway,  who  later  left  the  army,  but  still 
continued  to  do  all  in  his  power  to  injure  the  character 
of  Washington,  was  provoked  to  a  duel  by  General 
Cadwalader,  and  so  seriously  wounded  that  he  thought 
he  was  going  to  die.  It  was  then  that  he  wrote  to  the 
great  man:  "I  am  about  to  die.  Through  justice  and 
truth  I  am  forced  to  declare  my  last  sentiments.  In 
my  eyes  you  are  a  great  and  excellent  man.  May  you 
enjoy  for  a  long  time  the  love,  esteem  and  veneration 
of  those  States  whose  liberty  you  have  won  by  your 
virtues."  But  he  survived;  we  like  to  believe  that  he 
did  not  change  his  opinion. 

La  Fayette  felt  that  honor  obliged  him  to  remain  in 
America  at  his  post ;  and  there  cannot  be  too  much  said 
of  the  beneficent  and  conciliatory  influence  that  he  exer- 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE      49 

cised,  together  with  a  scruple  of  modesty,  about  making 
himself  "ridiculously  important"  not  only  in  the  army 
but  in  Congress.  Now,  in  January,  1778,  it  was  de 
cided  to  invade  Canada,  and  La  Fayette  was  appointed 
commander  of  the  expedition,  with  Conway  and  Stark 
under  his  orders.  The  War  Office,  without  consulting 
Washington,  "ordered  him  to  await  his  instructions  at 
Albany."  In  this  proceeding  he  felt  that  there  was  an 
underhand  attempt  "to  elate  him"  (Venivrer],  so  as  to 
render  him  manageable,  and  worse  than  all,  to  offend 
his  commander-in-chief.  He  rushed  to  York  and 
told  them  he  would  accept  only  on  condition  that  he 
would  be  still  under  the  command  of  Washington,  even 
though  at  a  distance.  Then,  notwithstanding  the  snow 
and  ice,  from  the  3d  to  the  I7th  of  February,  he  quickly 
moved  from  York  to  Albany.  He  had  started 
full  of  hope,  but  he  was  doomed  to  disappointment. 
Nothing  had  been  prepared.  Out  of  3,000  men  prom 
ised,  he  found  only  1,200;  and  most  of  them  were 
"poorly  clad  even  for  a  summer  campaign."  From 
General  Stark,  who  was  to  have  joined  him  there  with 
a  considerable  body  of  troops,  he  received  but  one  letter, 
in  which  he  asked:  "How  large  a  number,  for  what 
place,  at  what  time,  and  what  rendezvous  am  I  to  make 
recruits  ?"  Generals  Schuyler,  Lincoln,  and  Arnold  had 
persuaded  Conway  that  the  enterprise  was  foolish; 
and  so  it  was,  without  provisions,  magazines,  sleds,  or 
snow-shoes.  The  resources,  however,  were  not  lacking; 
for  General  Schuyler  said  later  to  Chastellux,  that  in  a 
month's  time,  between  the  Hudson  and  the  Connecticut, 
they  could  easily  have  brought  together  1,500  sleds, 
2,000  horses,  and  an  equal  number  of  cattle.  But  no 
order  was  given.  Save  a  few  Canadians,  under  Colonel 
Hazen,  more  accustomed  to  sleep  in  the  woods  by  a 


50    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

big  fire  than  in  a  tent,  even  in  the  most  intense  cold,  the 
troops  were  "little  disposed  to  undertake  an  incursion 
into  such  a  cold  country."  An  extreme  discontentment 
reigned  among  the  officers  and  soldiers  who  had  not 
received  their  pay  "for  a  great  length  of  time." 

La  Fayette  had  the  good  sense  not  to  make  this  ven 
ture,  as  enthusiastic  as  he  was  about  running  after  a 
mirage  of  glory;  and  also  on  account  of  "what  was 
expected  of  him  both  in  America  and  Europe."  But 
the  failure  of  this  expedition  was  not  entirely  useless. 
One  fine  day,  while  the  snow  still  covered  that  dark 
earth  that  resembled  "iron  ore,"  where  grew  the  cypress 
and  pine,  he  left  the  sheltered  hospitality  of  Albany. 
It  was  comfortable  there  in  winter  on  the  banks  of  the 
frozen  Hudson;  and  not  defiguree  by  the  cold  as  Chas- 
tellux  saw  it,  but,  vigilant  and  peaceful,  on  the  con 
fines  of  the  country  of  the  savages.  La  Fayette  went 
to  see  these  savages  on  the  Mohawk  River.  He  was 
just  the  person  to  awaken  their  old  love  for  France. 
He  was  present  at  their  councils,  or  powwows,  and  was 
much  amused  "at  their  five  hundred  faces  painted  in 
various  colors;  and  their  feathers;  and  their  ears  cut, 
and  their  noses  adorned  with  jewelry."  Upon  their 
request,  he  sent  Colonel  Gouvion,  as  far  as  the  Oneidas, 
to  construct  a  fort  for  them.  Henceforth,  to  all  these 
savages  (Messieurs  les  Sauvages)  the  marquis  was  known 
by  the  name  of  one  of  their  dead  warriors,  Kayewla. 

Kayewla's  only  desire  was  to  return  to  Washington, 
and  he  finally  reached  him  on  April  nth.  In  his  ab 
sence  the  commander-in-chief  had  had  a  tiff  with  Con 
gress.  This  did  not  affect  the  marquis,  because  of  his' 
youth  and  inexperience,  which  sometimes  proves  useful : 
La  Fayette  had  the  advantage  of  his  twenty  years.  Even 
with  the  anti-French  parties  he  nearly  always  gained 
his  point,  and  it  was  by  reason  of  his  personality;  as 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE      51 

soon  as  they  saw  him  they  would  grant  him  everything 
that  he  wanted.  But  the  rude  work  of  maturity  hung 
heavy  upon  the  shoulders  of  Washington,  though  it 
did  not  bend  them.  He  knew  what  it  cost  to  be  en 
cumbered  with  humble  and  heavy  burdens,  and  with  the 
innumerable  cares  of  a  commander;  and  to  have  to 
realize  an  ideal,  with  the  imperfect  and  rebellious  matter 
that  men  are  made  of,  in  spite  of  their  selfish  demands, 
in  face  of  their  ingratitude,  and  cruel  reproaches  for 
having  abandoned  this  ideal,  while  they  themselves 
were  passionately  determined  to  destroy  it.  He  had 
to  contend  with  carping  critics,  who,  seated  in  their 
comfortable  homes,  were  scandalized  because  his  army, 
without  clothes  or  munitions,  in  midwinter,  felt  that 
they  could  not  blockade  the  English  in  Philadelphia. 
The  distrust  of  Congress  of  the  military  power,  and  par 
ticularly  the  distrust  of  the  legislatures  of  each  colony, 
became  most  offensive  to  Washington,  for  he  had  to  sub 
mit  to  having  committees  of  these  agitators  and  fault 
finders  in  his  camp.  Officers  were  constantly  giving  in 
their  resignations,  and  the  general  had  infinite  difficulty 
in  obtaining  from  Congress,  in  their  favor,  the  com 
pensations  necessary  to  retain  them  in  the  service.  The 
President  of  Congress  said:  "Suppose  that  love  of 
country  alone  influenced  some  men  to  give  up  the  com 
forts  of  life,  while  their  friends  were  peaceably  amassing 
great  fortunes;  now  this  is  not  what  human  nature  is, 
but  is  it  not  what  it  should  be?"  The  deputy,  John 
Banister,  answered:  "You  can  have  all  the  theories 
you  want  .  .  .  you  can  also  cite  some  examples  of 
ancient  history;  but,  whoever  fights  with  this  ideal 
alone  in  mind  in  order  to  sustain  a  long,  bloody  war,  is 
going  to  find  deception  for  himself  in  the  end.  Patriot 
ism  can  influence  men  to  act,  and  to  endure  much;  but 
this  will  not  last  long  if  interest  is  not  its  object." 


52     SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

About  the  middle  of  April,  conciliatory  bills,  which 
had  been  presented  by  Lord  Northcote  to  Parliament 
on  the  I yth  of  February,  reached  America:  the  taxations 
were  to  be  revoked,  the  King  of  England  was  sending 
plenipotentiaries  to  Congress  to  offer  peace.  Although 
the  Treaty  of  Alliance  with  France  was  not  yet  certain, 
Washington  did  not  hesitate  an  instant.  He  saw  clearly 
that  a  peace  established  on  any  other  basis  than  that  of 
absolute  independence  would  be  "a  peace  of  war"; 
that  is,  if  America  accepted  a  treaty  with  England  upon 
any  other  condition  than  that  of  a  sovereign  or  free  na 
tion,  she  would  be  at  the  mercy  of  the  mother  country; 
she  would  be  dishonored  and  would  forfeit  the  sympathy 
of  the  world:  " France,  in  coming  to  our  aid,  has  helped 
to  remove  us  from  this  yoke  of  slavery;  it  is  now  our 
duty,  through  a  wise  and  meritorious  perseverance,  to 
free  ourselves  entirely  from  it." 

Later  we  will  understand  better  what  he  meant  by 
that,  and  how  he  clung  to  the  thought  that  America 
herself  should  win  this  liberty.  He  urged  a  union  in 
his  distracted  country;  he  wished  each  state  to  be 
represented  in  Congress  by  clever,  honest  men.  "All 
the  wisdom  of  America,"  he  said,  "with  its  magnificent 
simplicity,  is  necessary  to  us.  Whether  members  of 
Congress  or  soldiers  we  are  one  people,  engaged  in  a 
single  cause  for  a  single  object,  acting  on  the  same  prin 
ciple  and  with  the  same  purpose  in  view."  The  time 
is  now  drawing  near  when  France,  in  the  midst  of  dis 
sensions,  injurious  to  the  cause  of  American  liberty, 
will  make  this  solid,  constructive  truth  prevail. 

We  can  imagine  the  satisfaction  of  Washington  when 
the  text  of  the  treaty,  signed  with  France  by  the  com 
missioners,  reached  him.  Operations  became  active 
again.  The  British  thought  of  evacuating  Philadelphia. 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE      53 

In  order  to  have  news  of  their  movements,  the  general 
confided  2,400  picked  men  to  La  Fayette,  with  the  mis 
sion  to  watch  them  and  cut  off  all  communication  from 
Philadelphia.  "Any  mistake  or  precipitation  would 
have  the  most  disastrous  consequences." 

The  marquis  passed  over  the  Schuylkill,  and  on  May 
1 8th  stationed  himself  on  the  heights  called  Barren 
Hill.  As  ill-luck  would  have  it,  in  spite  of  all  his  pre 
cautions,  and  perhaps  through  the  fault  of  certain  mili 
tia,  who  neglected  to  guard  one  of  the  three  roads 
through  which  La  Fayette  could  have  outflanked  the 
enemy,  he  was  not  able  to  prevent  the  English — 7,000 
men  and  14  pieces  of  cannon — from  forcing  a  night 
sortie,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  2Oth  La  Fayette  dis 
covered  that  they  had  escaped  him.  In  his  turn, 
General  Howe  was  sure  that  he  had  caught  La  Fayette 
"and  had  boasted  of  inviting  women  to  sup  with  him 
the  following  night."  But  La  Fayette,  also,  gave  him 
the  slip.  Let  us  have  the  account  from  Chastellux: 
"General  Howe  was  not  long  in  marching  to  the  ad 
vance-posts  of  La  Fayette:  the  result  was  rather  a 
comical  adventure.  The  fifty  Indians  that  had  been 
given  to  the  marquis  had  been  stationed  in  a  woods; 
and,  as  was  their  custom,  they  had  formed  an  ambus 
cade;  that  is  to  say,  they  were  lying  close  together, 
flat  on  the  ground  like  rabbits.  Fifty  English  dra 
goons,  who  had  never  seen  savages,  entered  the  woods 
where  they,  who  likewise  had  never  seen  dragoons, 
were  hidden.  Suddenly  the  Indians  arose  with  a  ter 
rific  yell,  threw  down  their  arms,  fled  to  the  Schuylkill 
and  swam  across;  while  the  dragoons  frightened  out 
of  their  wits  turned  and  ran  with  such  speed,  that  they 
could  not  be  stopped  until  they  reached  Philadelphia." 
La  Fayette,  finding  himself  outflanked,  "judged  that 
the  column  marching  toward  him  would  not  attack  him 


54    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

first,  but  would  wait  until  he  was  in  line."  He  there 
fore  changed  his  position;  but  he  had  hardly  done  so 
when  he  discovered  that  General  Grant  was  marching 
toward  the  ford  of  the  Schuylkill,  and  was  already  nearer 
than  he  was  to  it.  He  had  to  retreat  or  run  the  risk  of 
being  attacked  in  front  by  Grant  and  in  the  rear  by 
Howe  and  Grey.  La  Fayette  knew  that  "you  lose  more 
men  than  you  gain  time  if  a  retreat  is  turned  to  a  flight." 
He,  therefore,  beat  a  retreat  so  quietly  and  in  such  an 
orderly  manner  that  General  Grant  did  not  doubt  but 
that  he  was  supported,  at  the  end  of  the  defile,  through 
which  he  was  making  his  retreat,  by  all  of  Washington's 
army.  Finally,  he  retired,  "as  if  by  enchantment,  and 
crossed  the  river  with  all  his  artillery,  without  losing  a 
single  man."  The  English  had  been  tricked. 

On  the  1 8th  of  June  the  British  abandoned  Phila 
delphia  and  started  toward  New  York.  The  American 
army  went  after  them;  but  when  they  had  passed  the 
Delaware,  General  Lee  said  that  it  would  be  necessary 
to  let  them  have  great  advantage,  for  he  had  never 
seen  an  army  with  the  troops  so  well  disciplined;  that 
the  best  thing  to  do  was  to  let  the  English  cross  the  Jer 
seys  unmolested,  while  they  remained  at  White  Plains. 
La  Fayette  replied  that  such  a  proceeding  would  be  a 
disgrace  to  the  commanders  and  a  humiliation  to  the 
soldiers;  and  so  the  attack  was  decided.  At  Mon- 
mouth  Court  House,  on  the  28th  of  June,  the  English 
held  a  strong  position ;  their  right  flank  was  on  the  edge 
of  a  little  thicket,  their  left  protected  by  a  dense 
forest,  and  the  rear-guard  by  a  marsh.  General  Lee, 
whose  whole  attitude  was  suspicious,  was  giving  way; 
and  Washington  who  had  come  to  his  aid  with  his 
troops  of  assault,  relieved  of  their  blankets  and  knap 
sacks,  had  the  mortification  of  meeting  his  advance- 
guard  beating  a  retreat  without  having  opposed  the 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE      55 

least  resistance.  He  gathered  the  fugitives  together  and 
arrayed  them  again  for  battle.  La  Fayette  declared 
that  Washington  was  never  so  great  in  war  as  in  this 
action;  his  fine  appearance  on  horseback,  his  bravery, 
his  coolness,  soon  restored  confidence  to  the  troops.  He 
re-assembled  about  700  or  800  of  the  men  and  some  can 
non,  with  which  the  marquis,  himself,  endeavored  to 
retard  the  enemy;  and  the  American  army  was  then  re 
formed  on  a  second  line.  They  cannonaded  all  day  long, 
the  English  giving  way  a  little.  The  heat  was  over 
powering;  some  of  the  men,  worn  out  by  the  long 
march  through  a  sandy  soil,  and  without  water,  died 
before  they  could  go  into  battle.  Night  came,  and 
General  Clinton  took  advantage  of  this  to  retreat.  He 
did  it  in  such  perfect  silence  that  the  advance-guard 
of  the  Americans,  commanded  by  General  Poor,  did 
not  perceive  his  movements.  Resting  under  the  same 
cover,  surrounded  by  the  sleeping  soldiers,  Washington 
and  La  Fayette  talked  of  Lee.  Court-martialled  and 
suspended,  Lee  quit  the  service,  "and  was  not  regretted." 
Once  more  fortune  favored  them.  They  marched  toward 
White  Plains,  leaving  Clinton  to  extricate  himself  from 
the  defiles  of  the  hills  near  the  Shrewsbury  River.  Mon- 
mouth  Church  was  full  of  wounded  Englishmen ;  every 
thing  possible  was  done  for  them;  and  Chevalier  de 
Pontgibaud  could  not  see,  "without  being  deeply  moved 
to  compassion,  the  amputation  of  the  limbs  of  the  young 
officers  of  the  Guard;  their  colonel,  sixty  years  of  age/' 
a  man  of  distinction  with  a  noble  face,  died  of  his  wounds 
after  suffering  twenty-four  hours. 

On  July  8th  a  squadron  appeared  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Delaware.     Admiral  d'Estaing  had  arrived. 

He  would  have  arrived  sooner  had  it  not  been  for 
Spain.     The  Family  Compact  bound  the  court  of  Ver- 


56    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

sailles  to  that  of  Madrid.  However,  Louis  XVI,  tired 
of  controversy  on  the  subject,  had  acted  without  the 
consent  of  his  Catholic  Majesty.  Although  Charles  III 
was  advised  of  the  intentions  of  France  as  early  as 
January,  1778,  in  forms  of  the  utmost  respect,  neverthe 
less,  he  resented  this  action.  His  Prime  Minister, 
Florida-Blanca,  was  furious;  his  policy  would  have  been 
to  keep  the  United  States,  a  dangerous  neighbor  to  the 
Spanish  colonies,  in  a  state  of  anarchy.  He  was  a 
strange  character:  sometimes  keeping  a  constrained, 
bitter  silence ;  at  others,  breaking  out  into  extraordinary 
vehemence.  When  he  was  in  one  of  these  moods, 
Vergennes  would  exhort  De  Montmorin  to  employ  all 
the  resources  of  his  ingenuity  upon  him  so  as  to  draw 
him  out  of  it.  On  the  loth  of  April  he  compared  the 
American  deputies,  before  our  unmovable  Ambassador, 
"to  the  Kings  of  the  Orient  who  came  to  beg  assistance 
of  the  Roman  Consul' ';  he  treated  the  declaration  of 
our  alliance  with  them  as  Don  Quixot-ism. 

"Do  they  take  the  King  of  Spain  for  a  Governor  of 
a  Province,  from  whom  they  ask  advice,  only  to  send 
their  orders  to  him  afterwards !"  And  then  he  secretly 
paid  court  to  England,  without  taking  into  account, 
however,  that  it  was  due  to  our  vigorous  conduct  that 
Spain  retained  the  "precarious  regards"  of  the  court  of 
Saint  James.  In  a  vague  and  indifferent  sort  of  way  he 
attempted  to  become  the  mediator  between  France  and 
Great  Britain.  But  this  haughty  Minister,  although  he 
still  continued  to  express  himself  violently,  let  it  be 
known  upon  what  conditions  Spain  would  follow  France. 

War  was  not  yet  declared;  but  Lord  Stormont  had 
left  Paris  the  end  of  March,  1778.  On  the  iQth  of 
that  month  De  Chaulieu,  commandant  at  Dunkerque, 
had  notified  the  English  Commissioner  that  the  salary 


SOLDIERS  AND   SAILORS  OF  FRANCE      57 

paid  him  from  the  funds  of  the  Department  of  Foreign 
Affairs  would  be  withdrawn  from  the  1st  of  April. 
This  was  a  dismissal.  Our  fleet  was  made  ready  for  war, 
our  arsenals  filled.  In  our  ports  there  was  a  feverish 
anxiety  to  equip  the  ships  with  the  hope  of  reaping  fabu 
lous  profits.  April  I3th,  D'Estaing  appeared  at  Toulon. 


CHAPTER  IV 

D'ESTAING  IN  AMERICA — GERARD,  MINISTER  PLENI 
POTENTIARY  TO  CONGRESS — DIFFICULTY  AND 
IMPORTANCE  OF  HIS   ROLE — HIS   SUCCESS 

The  admiral's  destination  was  a  secret;  but  every  one 
knew  that  he  had  on  board  the  Languedoc  Gerard,  the 
Charge  d' Affaires  of  the  King  to  Congress.  It  was  not 
until  the  night  of  the  I7th  of  May  that  the  squadron 
cleared  Gibraltar.  Many  of  the  vessels  sailed  slowly. 
The  Languedoc,  the  Cesar,  and  the  Tonnant  were  obliged 
to  regulate  their  speed  to  the  Guerrier  and  the  Valliant. 
The  object  of  their  voyage  was  not  revealed  until  the 
morning  of  the  2Oth  of  May.  Then  the  admiral  sig 
nalled  to  each  captain  to  open  the  sealed  letter  contain 
ing  his  mission.  Two  frigates  were  to  set  full  sail  and 
chase  any  ship  carrying  the  English  flag.  A  solemn  mass 
was  celebrated  on  board  the  admiral's  vessel;  the  great 
flag  was  hoisted;  the  admiral  read  in  a  loud  voice  the 
instructions  declaring  the  opening  of  the  war  and  the 
order  to  run  down  any  ships  belonging  to  Great  Britain. 
And  for  the  first  time  for  many  years  a  powerful  French 
squadron  spread  out  upon  the  ocean. 

D'Estaing  lost  time  on  the  way  hunting  for  prey. 
Certain  pamphlets  pretended  that  this  old  musketeer 
who  had  entered  late  in  the  navy,  a  former  governor- 
general  of  San  Domingo,  vice-admiral  of  the  seas  of 
Asia  and  America,  had  acquired  a  taste  for  filibustering 
in  the  West  Indies;  that  like  a  cat,  metamorphosed 
into  a  woman,  who  returns  to  her  old  nature  upon  seeing 
a  mouse,  so  he,  metamorphosed  into  the  commander  of 
a  great  naval  force,  could  not  sight  a  corsair-enemy 
without  pouncing  upon  her. 

58 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE      59 

Like  La  Fayette,  he  was  a  Franc- Auvergnat.  A  tra 
dition  says  that  his  ancestor,  Deodat,  saved  Philippe 
Auguste  at  Bouvines,  "and  took  from  the  enemy  the 
shield  fallen  from  the  royal  hands. "  The  Chamber  of 
Agriculture  of  San  Domingo  passed  good  judgment  upon 
his  qualities  and  his  faults:  "Wide-awake  mind,  full 
of  activity;  less  judgment.  The  heart  of  an  Auver 
gnat,  good  and  honest.  Subject  to  violent  spells  of 
anger;  impenetrable  secrecy;  peculiarly  fitted  for  office 
work  which  was  a  recreation  for  him."  Instinctively  he 
felt  that  his  force  lay  in  a  sudden  blow;  and  putting  his 
conviction  to  the  test,  he  believed  that  all  depended 
"upon  the  first  moment  of  arrival,  when  you  take  your 
adversary  by  surprise" — as  he  wrote  De  Sartine — "and 
where  in  most  cases  nothing  resists  you."  Now  he  is 
going  to  lose  this  first  moment.  When  he  arrived  at 
the  Delaware,  on  July  8th,  1778,  Clinton,  whom  he 
counted  upon  surprising  in  Philadelphia,  was  no  longer 
there;  and  Admiral  Howe,  whom  he  wished  to  strike, 
like  a  thunderbolt,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Delaware,  was 
waiting  at  Sandy  Hook  to  transport  Clinton's  troops  to 
New  York.  In  Europe,  also,  the  face  of  things  was 
changing.  The  brave  Chaudeau  de  la  Clochetterie, 
commander  of  the  Belle  Poule,  after  his  victorious  com 
bat  of  the  1 7th  of  June  with  the  English  frigate  Arethuse, 
was  triumphantly  received  at  Brest.  The  nation  wel 
comed  with  enthusiasm  the  commander  and  crew  which, 
before  an  enemy  squadron,  had  just  given  proof  of  the 
resurrection  of  the  French  navy.  On  July  loth  the 
fleet  of  Admiral  d'Orvillers  set  out  to  sea;  war  was  de 
clared.  But  France*  remembered  that  Cook,  the  Eng- 

*  AUTHOR'S  NOTE. — M.  Andr6  Beaunier  has  kindly  assured  me  that  this 
pretty  page  from  the  Anecdotes,  of  which  he  has  the  original  copy,  is  from 
the  hand  of  Joubert. 


6o    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

lish  navigator,  who  had  left  Plymouth  two  years  before, 
must  be  upon  the  point  of  returning;  she  gave  orders 
to  spare  him  wherever  they  should  meet  him.  Cook 
was  never  to  know  of  the  unusual  honor  that  France  was 
the  first  to  show  him.  He  was  massacred  at  Owyhee,  in 
the  seas  of  another  hemisphere,  on  February  I2th,  1779; 
and  when  De  Sartine  expedited  from  Versailles,  on  the 
1 9th  of  the  same  month,  orders  to  all  of  our  naval  officers 
to  put  no  difficulties  in  the  way  of  this  great  man  wher 
ever  they  met  him  upon  the  high  seas,  and  to  let  him  go 
in  peace,  alas !  the  celebrated  explorer  had  been  killed 
seven  days  before.  France  loved  him.  "Because  he  had 
lived,  from  that  moment  and  henceforth,  death  and  suffering 
would  be  more  rare"  Rodney,  the  English  admiral, 
was  detained  in  France  for  debts;  Marechal  de  Biron 
paid  his  debts  for  him  so  that  he  could  go  and  fight. 
Those  were  the  fine  old  days  of  courteous  manners ! 

While  a  smaller  boat,  the  Chimere — a  name  which 
was  not  symbolic — bore  the  Minister  Plenipotentiary 
to  Philadelphia,  D'Estaing  offered  to  the  "sublime 
liberator  of  America" — to  Washington — "the  frank, 
warm  homage  of  his  friendship  and  entire  devotion." 
"It  has  been  prescribed  in  my  orders,"  he  said,  "but 
my  heart  also  inspires  me  to  say  these  words."  Then, 
without  delay,  on  July  nth,  he  appeared  off  Sandy 
Hook  with  his  twelve  ships,  which  were  much  superior 
to  the  nine  of  Admiral  Howe. 

But  the  majestic  French  ships  drew  too  much  water 
to  pass  the  bar.  D'Estaing  offered  150,000  livres  to 
the  American  pilots  if  they  would  steer  his  fleet  safely 
into  the  harbor,  but  they  refused.  Then  he  cast  an 
chor  some  few  miles  from  there  off  the  coast  of  New 
Jersey,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Shrewsbury  River.  The 
admiral  had  the  pleasure  of  taking  on  some  fresh  water, 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE      61 

of  which  he  was  in  great  need,  right  before  the  eyes  of  a 
group  of  English  cavalry.  A  corvette,  30  merchant 
ships,  1, 600  recruits  were  the  booty  of  eleven  days  of 
blockade.  It  was  costing  D'Estaing  too  much  to  re 
nounce  destroying  the  English  fleet  in  the  bay  of  New 
York.  For  the  second  time,  on  the  22d,  he  appeared 
off  Sandy  Hook;  he  feared  to  undertake  it,  however — 
he  scented  an  obstacle  and  withdrew.  If  he  had  only 
remained !  The  ships  of  Admiral  Byron  that  were 
being  brought  from  Plymouth  to  reinforce  the  English 
fleet  were  scattered  by  a  heavy  storm  and  came  in  one 
by  one,  up  to  the  3Oth ;  he  lost  an  easy  prey. 

Washington  sent  to  him  at  once  his  aide-de-camp, 
Colonel  Laurens,  son  of  the  President  of  Congress; 
and,  a  little  later,  on  this  same  day,  July  I7th,  when 
Major  Chouin,  the  admiral's  emissary,  arrived  at  the 
General  Headquarters  on  Haverstraw  Bay,  Colonel 
Hamilton,  with  Colonel  Fleury,  was  despatched  to 
D'Estaing  to  concert  with  him  about  an  attack  by  sea 
and  land  upon  Newport,  the  capital  of  Rhode  Island. 
La  Fayette,  most  eager  to  distinguish  himself,  dreamed 
of  the  great  happiness  of  fighting  with  the  soldiers  of  his 
King,  and  D'Estaing  gave  him  credit  for  having  "  in 
fluenced  public  opinion  and  gained  assistance."  Skirting 
the  Sound,  passing  through  a  pretty  expanse  of  country 
covered  with  villages,  from  White  Plains  to  Providence, 
a  distance  of  240  miles,  the  marquis  rode  joyfully  along, 
escorted  by  2,000  troops  of  the  Union ;  he  rushed  into  the 
arms  of  D'Estaing,  who,  in  his  turn,  was  delighted  to 
see  him,  and  overwhelmed  him  with  attentions.  On 
July  2Oth,  in  fact,  while  France  was  celebrating  the 
battle  of  Ouessant,  our  fleet  arrived  off  Rhode  Island. 
Sullivan,  under  whom  La  Fayette  had  orders,  not  being 
so  quick  as  the  marquis,  failed  to  appear  at  the  appointed 


62    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

place.  Three  frigates,  at  the  first  onset,  forced  the  east 
passage;  with  two  vessels  Suffren  occupied  the  west 
channel  and  reduced  to  silence  the  batteries  of  the  island 
of  Conanticut.  Four  English  frigates,  two  corvettes, 
two  galleys  that  carried  cannon  along  their  sides  were 
burned.  D'Estaing  reserved  for  himself  the  task  of 
forcing  the  third  passage  (that  of  Newport)  with  eight 
ships.  He  forced  it,  passing  under  fire  of  the  batteries 
to  which  he  could  not  respond;  the  English  had  sunk 
the  ships  which  were  defending  the  approaches  to  it. 
This  was  August  8th. 

The  night  following,  General  Sullivan  landed  on  the 
north  of  the  island  with  10,000  men  and  field-artillery. 
On  the  Qth,  in  the  morning,  D'Estaing  had  landed  4,000 
men  on  Conanticut.  It  was  then  that  Sullivan  made  it 
known  that  the  English,  frightened  at  the  sharp  attack 
of  the  French,  had  fallen  back  en  masse  on  the  Ameri 
can  army;  he  asked  for  aid.  D'Estaing  would  have 
joined  him  immediately,  and  the  order  had  been  given, 
when  suddenly,  with  the  addition  of  several  ships  from 
Admiral  Byron,  Howe's  fleet  was  discovered  on  the 
horizon. 

The  French  admiral  had  to  save  his  vessels.  He  could 
not  remain  at  anchor  under  fire  of  the  land  batteries 
while  having  to  fight  against  a  naval  force  now  superior 
to  his  own.  The  wind  filled  his  sails;  D'Estaing  cut 
his  cables,  and  with  the  same  boldness  that  he  had  forced 
his  entrance,  he  escaped  from  the  harbor  of  Newport,  and 
hurried  in  the  direction  of  the  English  fleet,  which  was 
awaiting  him.  It  would  have  been  a  magnificent  com 
bat  had  it  not  been  for  a  terrific  wind-storm  which  sud 
denly  dispersed  the  two  fleets.  On  the  I2th,  at  three 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  admiral's  ship,  the  Languedoc, 
had  her  jib  broken  and  her  foresail  and  mizzenmast 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE      63 

"came  down  at  the  same  time."  In  its  turn  the  main 
mast  fell,  and  finally  the  rudder  broke.  "  After  forty 
hours  of  stormy  weather/'  on  the  I3th  the  Languedoc 
found  herself  separated  from  the  rest  of  her  fleet,  when 
she  met  the  Renown,  a  vessel  of  fifty  cannon  perfectly 
intact.  The  Renown  manoeuvred  so  that  her  cannon 
would  "enter  at  the  back  of  the  Languedoc,  run  the 
length  of  her  batteries  and  finally  lodge  in  the  front 
of  the  vessel."  The  French  admiral,  with  his  rudder 
broken,  was  not  able  to  use  but  six  of  his  cannon. 
Nevertheless,  his  resistance  was  so  energetic  and  skilful 
that  the  Renown  soon  became  disabled  herself,  and 
hardly  had  fired  three  volleys  before  she  set  sail  and 
fled.  On  the  I4th  the  fleet  came  together  again,  and 
D'Estaing  anchored  to  repair  his  damages.  On  the 
1 7th  she  again  set  sail,  and  anchored  on  the  2Oth  off 
Rhode  Island.  The  first  part  of  the  encounter  was  lost. 
Sullivan  was  waiting  for  us  so  as  to  begin  the  attack  on 
Newport,  but  our  fleet  was  in  such  ill  condition  that 
immediate  naval  co-operation  was  impossible.  On  the 
2 1st  all  the  captains  and  their  general  staff  of  officers  were 
of  the  opinion  that  it  would  be  necessary  to  go  to  Bos 
ton  for  repairs.  We  went  there  on  the  27th,  and  when 
Admiral  Howe  came  on  the  3Oth  to  reconnoiter  our 
forces,  he  found  the  defense  already  so  complete  that  he 
retired. 

Unhappily,  General  Sullivan  had  to  beat  a  retreat, 
painfully  disengage  himself  from  the  Hessians  and  Eng 
lish,  and  regain  a  place  of  safety  during  the  night  of 
August  3Oth.  His  rage  knew  no  bounds;  but  his  bitter 
feeling  against  D'Estaing  was  unjust.  On  August  22d 
he  yielded  to  a  bad  impulse  and  sent  to  the  admiral 
(whom  his  messenger  found  no  longer  at  anchor)  a 
solemn  and  abusive  protestation,  wherein  he  treated  his 


64     SOLDIERS  AND   SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

actions  as  derogatory  to  the  honor  of  France,  "pernicious 
to  the  utmost  degree  to  the  prosperity  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  and  an  eternal  outrage  to  the  alliance 
which  then  existed  between  the  two  nations/'  This 
protest  was  signed  by  twenty  American  officers,  among 
whom  was  the  former  President  of  Congress,  Hancock, 
then  major-general,  commanding  the  militia  of  Massa 
chusetts.  La  Fayette  was  distressed  and  indignant. 
His  wounded  honor  caused  him  to  lose  his  temper;  he 
loudly  proclaimed  "that  what  France  did  was  always 
right."  "At  each  word  that  I  spoke,"  he  wrote 
D'Estaing,  "I  thought  I  saw  before  me  the  one  whom  I 
had  to  avenge."  On  the  25th  he  wrote  to  Washing 
ton:  "I,  the  friend  of  America,  the  friend  of  General 
Washington,  am  upon  a  footing  of  hostility  within 
our  lines."  His  heart  was  wounded  to  the  quick  "by 
the  very  people  he  had  come  so  far  to  love." 

He  alone  could  make  such  a  complaint;  he  alone 
could  say  to  Washington  that  the  true  reason  for  this 
bitter  disappointment  was  that  "the  commanders  of 
the  expedition  were  a  little  ashamed  of  going  back  to 
their  families  and  friends  and  secret  enemies  after  hav 
ing  boasted  in  such  grandiose  terms  of  their  success  at 
Rhode  Island";  he  alone,  the  confidant  of  Washington, 
could  dare  to  recall  to  him  the  weakness,  hardly  a  secret, 
of  several  American  officers,  "who  would  not  sacrifice 
a  little  time  and  money,  nor  the  fatigue  of  remaining  a 
few  days  longer  in  camp,  when  they  were  only  a  short 
distance  from  their  homes."  He  alone  could  do  this, 
because  he  only  had  the  right  to  say  that  all  these 
quarrels  grieved  him  "both  as  an  American  and  as  a 
Frenchman." 

The  heart  of  Washington  understood  the  heart  of 
La  Fayette.  The  same  day  that  he  received  the  mes- 


SOLDIERS  AND   SAILORS   OF   FRANCE      65 

sage  from  La  Fayette  he  answered  it  and  reproved  Sulli 
van.  To  the  latter  he  pointed  out  the  influence  of  first 
impressions,  which  would  fix  the  opinion  of  France  upon 
the  national  character  of  America:  "In  our  conduct 
toward  the  Frenchmen  we  must  remember  that  they  are 
a  people  experienced  in  the  art  of  war,  that  they  are 
strict  in  the  observance  of  military  duties,  and  are  quick 
to  fight  where  others  would  be  barely  getting  ready." 
He  soothed  La  Fayette's  feelings  by  saying  that  he  him 
self  felt  "personally  distressed  at  the  light,  imprudent 
reflexions  made  upon  the  French  fleet  in  the  first  heat  of 
excitement  over  their  blighted  hopes. "  Finally,  D'Es- 
taing  offered  to  put  himself  in  the  field  at  the  head  of 
a  regiment,  as  he  had  done  under  the  orders  of  Marechal 
de  Saxe,  he,  an  admiral  of  France,  and  fight  under 
Sullivan — formerly  a  lawyer,  as  he  confided  to  De 
Sartine  two  months  later,  and  no  doubt  fort  incom 
mode  to  his  best  clients.  Washington  gently  spoke 
to  him  in  this  manner:  "  It  will  be  a  consolation  for  you 
to  remember  that  enlightened  minds  do  not  form  their 
opinion  upon  results,  and  that  their  justice  will  attach 
as  much  glory  to  actions  worthy  of  success,  as  to  those 
that  success  has  crowned."  In  its  turn,  Congress,  after 
having  conferred  with  Gerard,  rendered  homage  to  the 
zeal  of  D'Estaing  and  the  bravery  of  the  French. 

As  great  battles  were  not  being  fought,  the  marquis 
dreamed  of  combats  single-handed.  At  this  time  Eng 
lish  Commissioners  were  trying  to  induce  Congress  to 
listen  to  propositions  of  peace.  They  spoke  of  the  "un 
generous"  motives  of  French  policy.  When  La  Fayette 
read  this  word  he  felt  his  national  honor  outraged: 
"Lord  Carlisle  is  acting  as  the  head  of  this  party;  he 
has  been  well  appointed;  he  is  clever,  and  his  fortune, 
rank  and  birth  give  him  a  high  position  in  England; 


66    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

I  am  going  to  write  to  him,  and  propose  an  exemplary 
correction  before  the  English  and  American  Armies. 
I  flatter  myself  that  General  Washington  will  not  dis 
approve  of  this  proposition.  ...  I  must  admit  that 
I  am  most  eager  to  shed  some  drops  of  blood  for  my  coun 
try.  ...  It  is  a  good  fortune  that  my  war  compatriots 
will  grant  to  me,  and  I  shall  use  all  the  accomplishments 
of  a  petit-maitre"  Thus  wrote  the  marquis  to  D'Es- 
taing,  on  the  I3th  of  September,  on  a  day  when  he  was 
weary  and  annoyed.  The  note  was  sent;  we  have  the 
answer;  and  although  it  comes  from  a  diplomat,  we 
must  acknowledge  that  it  is  none  the  less  good;  it  is 
not  a  thrust,  it  is  simply  a  parry.  Lord  Carlisle  declined 
the  challenge,  and  no  one  blamed  him. 

A  fever  of  unrest  and  dissatisfaction  was  spreading 
among  the  American  people.  At  Boston  there  was 
still  great  prejudice  against  the  French.  On  the  8th 
of  September  an  unfortunate  thing  happened:  there 
was  a  quarrel  with  the  French  soldiers.  De  Pleville 
and  De  Saint-Sauveur  tried  to  act  as  mediators;  the 
result  was  that  both  were  wounded;  De  Sauveur  died. 
But  these  same  people  who  were  distrusting  the  French  in 
September,  welcomed  us  with  loud  cheers  in  November. 
The  Bostonians  were  grateful  to  our  squadron,  not  only 
for  having  put  their  city  in  a  state  of  defense — a  work 
that  was  done  by  Bougainville — but  for  having  cleared 
their  coasts  of  English  corsairs.  Commander  de  Senne- 
ville  rendered  account  of  it  to  the  Minister  of  Marine 
at  a  banquet,  given  on  the  5th,  to  the  French  who  were 
then  present  in  Boston.  The  frankest  cordiality  seemed 
to  reign  there.  The  host  of  the  occasion  expressed 
his  regret,  in  advance,  for  not  being  able  to  conform  to 
good  usage — "for  the  lack  of  ceremony,  but  begged 
them  to  excuse  it  as  the  ignorance  of  a  poor  farmer." 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE      67 

Another  person  fell  upon  the  neck  of  De  Senneville, 
congratulating  him  "that  his  vessel  was  the  first  to  be 
seen  at  Boston  (but  in  this  he  was  mistaken;  he  had 
come  from  the  country),  telling  him  that  such  an  event 
was  an  epoch  in  the  life  of  any  man."  The  action  of 
this  farmer  who  embraced  the  French  nobleman  teaches 
us  more  about  the  real  condition  of  things  than  the  mis 
conceived  analysis  of  others.  In  a  more  formal  manner 
G6rard  and  Congress  embraced  each  other.  Let  us  join 
them  while  D'Estaing,  on  November  4th,  leaves  Nan- 
tucket  harbor  and  sails  toward  the  West  Indies,  "in 
cloudy  weather,  with  a  heavy  sea." 

"First  of  all,  on  July  i8th,  Congress  offered  to  Gerard 
a  welcome,  preparing  a  banquet  'with  the  choice  pro 
visions  that  the  English  commissioners  sent  as  a  present 
to  the  members  to  bribe  them':  turtles  and  excellent 
French  wine.  Gerard  had  felt  that  three-fourths  of  the 
Philadelphians  (reduced,  it  is  true,  to  a  third  of  the 
normal  population)  were  opposed,  'with  insolence,' 
to  French  intervention.  But  several  members  came  to 
him  and  expressed  their  admiration  for  the  royal  mag 
nanimity  and  protested  that  the  objectors  were  already 
silenced:  nearly  all  assured  me  that  the  people  of  the 
different  colonies  showed  a  most  favorable  disposition 
toward  us.  In  fact,  the  inhabitants  on  the  banks  of 
the  Delaware  gave  evidence  of  great  joy  when  they 
learned  that  we  were  French.  Officers  and  civilians 
alike  said  to  us:  '  You  have  come  to  help  us,  and  we  will  go 
to  help  you  when  you  want  us.111  How  significant  these 
words  are  to-day ! 

On  August  6th  the  Plenipotentiary  was  received  by 
Congress  in  solemn  session.  The  formulary,  discussed 
at  length,  finally  adjusted  the  customs  of  monarchy 


68     SOLDIERS  AND   SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

to  that  of  republican  simplicity.  Then  "the  Honor 
able  Richard  Henry  Lee,  Esquire,  member  from  Vir 
ginia,  and  the  Honorable  Samuel  Adams,  Esquire, 
member  from  Massachusetts  Bay,  went  to  the  house 
of  the  French  Minister  in  a  carriage  drawn  by  six 
horses,  furnished  by  Congress.  Upon  arriving  at  the 
State  House,  the  two  members  of  Congress,  placing 
themselves  on  the  left  of  the  Minister,  conducted 
him  to  his  chair  in  the  Hall  of  Congress,  all  the  mem 
bers  being  in  their  places.  The  Minister  seated,  gave 
his  letters  of  credit  into  the  hands  of  his  secretary, 
who  advanced  and  presented  them  to  the  President. 
After  which  the  Secretary  of  Congress  read  and  inter 
preted  them;  the  reading  concluded,  Mr.  Lee  presented 
the  French  Minister  to  the  President  and  to  Congress. 
At  the  same  time,  the  President,  Congress,  and  the 
Minister  arose;  the  Minister  bowed  to  the  President 
and  to  Congress,  and  they  returned  his  salutation ;  then, 
they  were  all  seated  again.  A  moment  later,  the  Min 
ister  arose  and  addressed  a  discourse  to  Congress 
seated;  the  speech  being  finished  .  .  ."  But  let  us 
pass  on:  "  inside  of  the  railing  of  the  room,  Congress 
formed  a  half  circle,  on  each  side  of  the  President  and 
the  Minister:  the  President  was  seated  in  the  midst  of 
the  circle  in  a  chair  placed  upon  a  platform  raised  two 
steps;  the  Minister  was  seated  in  an  arm-chair  on  the 
other  side  of  him  on  a  level  with  the  members.  .  .  . 
Such  was  the  new  and  noble  spectacle  that  took  place 
in  this  New  World."  The  two  godfathers  (par rains} 
who  had  escorted  our  Minister  Plenipotentiary  on  Au 
gust  6th  were  typical  of  the  difficulties  that  were  going 
to  cross  his  path.  Samuel  Adams  and  Richard  Lee 
were  not  the  least  among  the  disturbers  in  the  hostile 
faction  against  Washington  and  France.  It  was  in 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE      69 

this  circle  that  credence  was  given  to  the  "  information  " 
that  Arthur  Lee  expedited  from  Paris  against  Franklin. 
Upon  what  terms  these  two  commissioners  will  stand 
henceforth,  and  what  opinion  the  doctor  had  of  his 
colleague,  is  clearly  put  forth  in  the  letter  that  he  wrote 
to  him,  April  4th,  1778.  Notwithstanding  the  jealous, 
suspicious,  malevolent,  quarrelsome  character  of  Arthur 
Lee,  Franklin  managed  to  get  along  with  him  very  well, 
"while  their  important  business  was  in  suspense."  He 
received  his  "insults  in  silence/'  and  contented  himself 
"with  burning  his  furious  letters. "  Franklin  was  not 
judged  guilty  by  Congress,  since  Lee  was  finally  ap 
pointed  Commissioner  to  the  court  of  Spain,  where, 
however,  he  did  not  go,  and  Franklin  was  given  the 
position  of  the  Minister  Plenipotentiary  to  the  court  of 
France.  It  was  a  lucky  thing  for  Franklin  that  this 
compromising  person  was  no  longer  his  assistant. 
Thanks  to  Lee,  the  English  court  was  not  left  long  in 
ignorance  of  the  negotiations  between  the  American 
Commissioners  and  the  French  Minister.  In  America 
the  intrigues  of  the  anti-French  party  became  more 
and  more  noticeable.  Silas  Deane,  however,  created 
quite  a  sensation  when,  in  the  Gazette  of  Philadelphia, 
December  5th,  1778,  he  published,  under  the  title  of 
"Address  to  the  Citizens  of  America,'*  a  denunciation  of 
Berkenhout  and  Temple,  citizens  of  Massachusetts  and 
agents  of  England. 

In  nearly  all  of  the  colonies,  people  of  prominence, 
"those  accustomed  to  the  distinction  of  authority, 
rank,  honor,  birth,  and  riches,"  although  favorably  in 
clined  to  the  Revolution,  were  repulsed  "by  the  vulgar 
ity  of  a  democratic  state,"  and  gradually  retired,  or  re 
mained  away  from  Congress  altogether.  There  was 
more  interest  taken  in  personal  questions  and  ambitions 


70    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

than  in  the  general  welfare.  Duels  were  frequent. 
"The  obsession  to  fight  mounted  to  a  scandalous  and  un 
believable  height.  ...  '  They  made  a  senator  leave  his 
seat,1  said  Gerard,  who  was  astounded  at  such  manners, 
'where  he  exercised  sovereign  right,  to  force  him  to 
sustain  at  the  peril  of  his  life,  the  vote  that  his  duty 
dictated  to  him.1 '  Antagonism  between  the  Americans 
of  the  South  and  those  of  the  North  was  plainly  per 
ceptible;  the  former  already  conforming  themselves 
to  a  public  life,  the  latter  still  imbued  with  extreme 
Presbyterian  individualism.  A  provincial  spirit,  in 
capable  of  submitting  itself  to  general  interest;  a  con 
stant  susceptibility  in  regard  to  the  spectre  of  the 
central  power,  always  suspected  of  aristocracy;  an  ex 
treme  fear  that  the  authority,  hardly  organized,  would 
usurp  the  prerogatives  in  its  assemblies  which  belonged, 
according  to  the  pure  democratic  dogma,  to  the  people 
alone;  a  defiant  mistrust  of  the  commanders  of  the 
army — all  these  causes  tended  to  destroy  and  disarm 
the  Union.  And,  to  crown  it  all,  the  new  members 
of  Congress,  "ignorant  of  that  which  had  been  done 
previous  to  their  arrival,  unacquainted  with  the  senti 
ments  that  had  inclined  the  former  members  toward 
France,"  were  ready  to  take  the  opposite  side  from  all 
anterior  decisions. 

However,  in  spite  of  the  traditional  English  prejudice 
against  us;  the  remembrance,  kept  constantly  in  mind  by 
the  Puritan  sect ;  the  Catholic  persecutions ;  the  Quakers, 
who  represented  as  "unnatural"  an  alliance  formed 
with  "the  enemies  of  all  civil  and  religious  liberty," 
our  connection  with  the  American  Government  still 
continued  to  remain  "honest  and  faithful."  The  effect 
produced  by  the  treaty  was  excellent:  the  proof  was 
made  public  that  we  would  not  impose  on  the  United 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE      71 

States  any  burdensome  conditions,  that  we  had  no  hostile 
feelings  toward  England,  no  desire  for  conquests,  and 
no  pretensions  to  any  commercial  privileges.  And  all 
Americans  learned  that  they  need  not  make  either  peace 
or  truce  without  our  aid.  Cleverly,  Gerard  dwelt  upon 
the  happy  impression  produced  in  America  by  the  re 
newal  of  our  alliance  with  the  Swiss  cantons.  He  had 
some  medals  distributed  which  were  struck  off  for  this 
occasion,  and  he  transmitted  to  Versailles  the  desire 
expressed  in  Philadelphia,  that  the  King  of  France 
would  celebrate  his  treaty  with  the  United  States  by  a 
medal  of  a  similar  order.  But  that  which  quieted  our 
timid  friends,  and  spoiled  the  objections  of  the  Presby 
terians,  was  the  financial  assistance  that  came  from 
France.  American  finances  were  in  a  ruined  condition; 
waste,  monopoly — all  kinds  of  fraud  had  accelerated 
the  fall  of  the  public  credit.  Paper  money  was  worth 
less.  Washington,  in  a  letter  to  Gouverneur  Morris, 
October  4th,  1778,  tells  us  "that  a  horse,  and  such  a 
horse !  costs  not  less  than  200  Ibs.  sterling,  and  a  saddle 
from  30  to  40  Ibs. ;  that  flour  was  from  5  to  15  Ibs.  sterling 
a  barrel,  according  to  where  you  bought  it;  hay  from  10 
to  20  Ibs.,  beef  in  proportion."  In  December,  in  order 
to  raise  the  value  of  American  paper  money,  Vergennes 
announced  to  Gerard  that  the  King  "favored  the 
establishment  of  a  private  firm  of  bankers,  who  would 
have  in  charge  the  acquitment,  for  a  stated  sum,  of  the 
interests  that  Congress  had  to  pay  for  those  of  its 
notes  upon  which  it  had  borrowed  money,  and  for  which 
it  had  drawn  upon  its  Commissioners  residing  in  Paris.1' 
Congress  owed  42,000,000  pounds,  Tours  currency,  at 
six  per  cent.  The  service  was  infinitely  more  valuable 
than  a  subsidy. 

America  had  not  yet  been  informed  of  it  that  day  of  De- 


72     SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

cember  when  Gerard  was  solemnly  honored  at  a  banquet 
given  for  the  elections  of  the  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania ;  it 
was  that  much  more  impressive  because  in  this  colony  the 
popular  committees  were  all  powerful.  "Monseigneur," 
wrote  Gerard  to  Vergennes,  "there  could  not  have  been 
shown  more  joy  and  appreciation  than  in  this  assembly, 
composed  of  two  hundred  and  fifty-six  persons,  every  time 
there  was  a  question  of  France  and  the  Alliance.  When 
they  drank  to  the  health  of  the  King,  the  whole  place 
resounded  with  their  acclamations.  The  new  President 
having  shown  one  of  his  neighbors  the  portrait  of  the 
King,  with  which  His  Majesty  had  honored  me  before 
my  departure,  it  made  the  tour  of  all  the  tables;  all 
those  in  their  places  at  table,  and  all  those  present  capa 
ble  of  thinking,  felt,  in  spite  of  their  national  prejudices, 
the  value  of  the  friendship  and  proceedings  of  His 
Majesty."  President  Laurens,  irritated  by  the  public 
denunciations  of  Deane,  had  failed,  however,  to  convince 
Congress  that  they  were  offensive  to  the  honor  of  na 
tional  representation,  and  he  had  to  give  in  his  resigna 
tion;  Temple  had  been  invited  to  leave  Philadelphia; 
Congress,  taken  as  a  sovereign  political  body,  felt  more 
than  ever  its  solid  union  with  France.  Under  the  new 
presidency  of  Jay,  at  the  request  of  Gerard,  he  offered 
the  following  resolutions,  January  I4th,  1779:  "Whereas 
it  has  been  represented  in  this  chamber  by  the  Honora 
ble  Mr.  Gerard,  the  Minister  Plenipotentiary  of  France, 
that  it  has  been  asserted  that  these  United  States  have 
reserved  the  right  to  treat  with  Great  Britain  separately 
from  their  ally,  be  it  unanimously  resolved  that,  neither 
France  nor  these  United  States  have  the  right  to  conclude, 
and  these  same  United  States  will  not  conclude,  either 
truce  or  peace  with  the  common  enemy,  without  having 
first  obtained  the  formal  consent  of  their  ally,  and  that  all 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE      73 

matters  or  things  that  will  intimate  or  advance  the  con 
trary  to  the  above,  will  tend  to  the  detriment  of  these 
United  States." 

Before  entering  into  a  period  of  difficulties  let  us  take 
farewell  of  La  Fayette.  He  went  away  for  a  while; 
he  returned  to  France,  and  Gerard  knowing  the  hot- 
brained  reputation  he  had  had  at  the  court  when  he 
fitted  up  his  ship  and  escaped  to  America,  gave  a  writ 
ten  testimony  to  Vergennes  "that  his  conduct  equally 
prudent,  courageous  and  kind,  had  made  him  the  idol 
of  Congress,  the  army  and  the  American  people."  But 
before  this,  on  the  2ist  of  October,  there  was  a  more 
brilliant  testimony  given  to  him ;  Congress  had  decided 
to  charge  the  Minister  Plenipotentiary  of  the  United 
States  at  the  court  of  Versailles  to  offer  in  their  name 
to  the  Marquis  de  La  Fayette,  as  an  acknowledgment 
of  services  rendered,  "a  sword  of  high  value  ornamented 
with  emblems  recalling  his  fine  actions";  and  on  the 
22d,  Congress  had  written  a  letter  to  the  King  of 
France,  recommending  "this  noble  young  man  to 
him,"  for  having  seen  him  "wise  in  counsel,  brave  on 
the  field  of  battle,  and  patient  in  the  midst  of  fatigues 
of  war."  And  then  was  added:  "The  devotion  to  his 
sovereign  has  always  guided  his  conduct,  which  con 
formed  as  well  to  all  the  duties  of  an  American."  This 
expression  of  their  sentiments  consecrated  in  La  Fayette 
the  living  figure  of  the  Alliance. 

He  carried  with  him  to  France  a  regret  and  a  hope; 
he  would  have  liked  to  organize,  for  the  following  sum 
mer,  an  attack  upon  Canada.  A  committee  from  Con 
gress  had  examined  a  plan  with  him  about  the  co 
operation  of  three  American  divisions  (which  would  be 
directed  toward  Detroit,  Niagara,  and  the  Connecticut 


74    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

River)  and  the  French  fleet,  which  would  carry  an  ex 
peditionary  corps  up  the  Saint  Lawrence  to  Quebec. 
In  the  course  of  the  conferences  La  Fayette  conducted 
himself  both  as  an  American  and  a  Frenchman:  when 
they  asked  him  if  he  thought  that  France  had  the  design 
of  transferring  to  America  the  theatre  of  war  with  Eng 
land,  and  of  conquering  Canada,  he  answered  that  he 
did  not  believe  it,  that  the  war  could  be  carried  on  in 
Europe  with  much  less  risk  and  expense;  he  pretended 
not  to  understand  that  the  committee  had  ascribed  to 
France  a  mental  reservation,  entirely  personal,  of  re 
covering  her  Canadian  possessions;  he  would  have 
been  very  unskilful  and  undignified  to  have  entered 
into  contention  and  controversy;  he  preferred  to  say 
that  the  best  attitude  for  America  would  be  not  to 
disguise  from  a  friend  as  loyal  as  France  "  either  her 
actions  or  her  views,  and  to  make  the  effective  resolu 
tion  of  helping  herself,  and  not  to  allow  the  whole  burden 
of  the  war  to  fall  upon  her  ally." 

We  touch  again  upon  a  jealous  point.  America  de 
sired  our  aid  but  she  feared  it.  She  did  not  wish  to 
owe  us  too  much.  Washington  demanded  that  American 
blood  be  the  price  of  American  liberty.  President 
Laurens  dreaded  the  humiliating  state  to  which  "the 
growing  independence"  would  be  reduced  if  its  fate 
was  to  be  put  "into  the  hands  of  a  powerful  creditor.'1 
He  was  opposed  to  the  decision  that  they  had  reached, 
to  borrow  from  France  so  as  to  pay  the  interest  on  the 
public  debt.  "Each  million  of  pounds  sterling  that  you 
borrow  is  a  new  lien  upon  your  property."  And  to 
whom  did  he  say  this  ?  To  Washington,  who,  confining 
himself  in  an  official  letter  to  considering  under  a  mili 
tary  point  of  view  the  projected  expedition  against 
Canada,  in  a  confidential  letter  of  November  I4th,  1778, 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE      75 

he  developed  at  length  his  political  reasons  for  his  dis 
approval;  they  were  dominated  by  the  fear  that  France 
would  establish  herself  in  Canada  and  that,  already 
possessing  New  Orleans  "over  the  right"  of  the  United 
States,  she  would  become  a  tyrannical  neighbor.  "  Even 
though  France  welcomed  this  project  with  the  purest 
intentions,  there  would  be  a  fear  that,  in  the  course  of 
affairs,  influenced  by  circumstances,  and  also,  perhaps, 
by  the  solicitations  and  wishes  of  the  Canadians  them 
selves,  she  would  not  change  her  mind."  And  so  be 
fore  his  departure,  La  Fayette  was  not  able  to  receive 
the  letter  from  Congress,  of  the  29th  of  December, 
which  declared  that  the  expedition  was  too  difficult  for 
American  resources,  but  if  France  would  take  the  initi 
ative,  America  would  second  her;  this  meant  nothing. 

How  Washington  was  deceived !  The  sentiment  and 
resolution  of  the  French  Ministry  never  changed:  no 
conquests;  above  all,  no  conquest  of  Canada.  As 
such  it  maintained  its  doctrine  and  its  conduct ;  as  such 
it  was  outlined  in  a  letter  from  Vergennes  to  the  Am 
bassador  of  Spain,  on  April  6th,  1777:  "If  France  has 
felt  the  loss  of  Canada,  she  ought  to  regret  it  that  much 
less,  since,  because  she  was  forced  to  give  it  up,  it  has 
become  the  signal  for  the  revolt  of  the  English  Colonies 
in  America.  If  we  should  try  to  get  it  back  again,  we 
should  awaken  the  old  uneasiness  and  jealousy  which 
made  these  same  Colonies  pledge  fidelity  and  submis 
sion  to  England.  .  .  .  They  would  not  try  to  throw 
off  the  yoke  of  the  mother-country  in  order  to  throw 
themselves  into  that  of  another  power.  And  besides, 
France  has  enough  Colonies  in  proportion  to  her  indus 
tries  and  population." 

Spain  did  not  have  the  same  scruples.  And  on  this 
account  the  difficulties  of  France  were  not  simplified; 


76     SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

we  were  obliged,  while  waiting  for  the  court  of  Spain  to 
declare  itself  with  us,  to  sustain  her  pretensions  before 
Congress.  The  Americans  desired  an  alliance  with 
Spain;  they  considered  it  certain  that  if  France  and 
Spain  united,  their  naval  superiority  over  England 
would  make  them  the  arbiters  of  the  situation.  But, 
as  we  have  seen,  it  was  not  easy  to  make  Spain  take  a 
position.  Her  manoeuvre,  ever  since  July,  1778,  was 
to  negotiate,  with  very  little  result,  a  reconciliation  be 
tween  London  and  the  court  of  Versailles ;  but  this  office 
of  mediator  only  served  her  as  a  pretext  to  remain  on 
the  expectative.  Montmorin  saw  clearly  that  Charles 
III  had  become  timid  through  the  remembrance  of  his 
past  misfortunes.  "It  would  be  necessary,  in  order  to 
make  him  come  to  a  decision,  to  present  to  him  some 
brilliant  success,  which  would  flatter  his  vanity.  .  .  . 
Although  a  religious  fanatic,  the  love  of  glory  was  near 
to  his  heart,  and  he  wished  to  make  his  reign  illustrious." 
If  he  made  war,  he  need  no  longer  fear  that  England 
would  put  a  heavy  hand  upon  the  treasures  of  India: 
in  August,  1778,  the  naval  division  of  Admiral  Casa- 
Tilly  had  brought  to  Cadiz  1,500,000  piastres.  But 
while  his  own  scruples  were  paralyzing  him,  the  im 
petuous  and  choleric  Florida-Blanca  was  holding  him 
too,  through  fear  which  hurt  his  pride:  he  maintained 
that  the  house  of  Bourbon  was  not  yet  strong  enough 
"for  a  great  spectacular  war.'*  This  Minister  would 
not  hear  of  mediocre  results:  "If  we  make  war  against 
the  English  it  must  be  carried  on  like  the  Romans 
against  the  Carthaginians."  To  satisfy  this  gigantic 
appetite  for  glory,  in  December,  1778,  he  asked  France 
to  guarantee  him,  through  an  agreement  with  the 
United  States,  Jamaica,  the  two  Floridas,  which  en 
tered  into  the  plan  of  the  conquest  of  the  Americans, 


SOLDIERS  AND   SAILORS  OF  FRANCE      77 

the  two  sides  of  the  Mississippi,  from  which  the  English 
and  Americans  would  be  driven,  the  coast  of  Honduras 
and  Gibraltar.  And  he  further  asked  for  an  assault 
upon  England.  To  which  Vergennes  replied  by  a  plan 
of  war  much  more  practical:  "Let  the  two  fleets  unite 
and  simply  enclose  the  English  fleet  in  the  Channel 
and  destroy  it.'*  The  excited  imagination  of  the  Span 
ish  Minister  could  not  be  contented  with  such  an  in 
significant  operation. 

Meanwhile,  so  as  not  to  displease  Spain,  on  August 
2Oth,  it  was  necessary  to  give  the  order  to  Admiral 
d'Orvillers,  who  had  gone  out  to  sea,  to  return  to  Brest. 
Public  opinion  became  violent,  and  Vergennes  at 
tempted  to  cope  with  it,  declaring  that  if  the  Family 
Compact  was  broken  it  would  be  harmful  to  the  prestige 
and  the  true  power  of  France.  Against  the  monarchical 
prejudices  of  the  court  of  Spain,  against  the  fear  of  the 
old  King  of  giving  birth  in  the  United  States  to  a  race 
of  conquerors,  he  held  to  this  idea  and  constantly  re 
turned  to  it:  that  the  condition  necessary  to  an  agree 
ment  between  London  and  Versailles  was  the  ac 
knowledgment  of  American  sovereignty.  Our  honor 
was  at  stake;  and  it  was  all  the  more  urgent  that 
we  should  not  allow  the  allusions  of  Spain  upon  the 
subject,  since  the  English  Commissioners  were  repre 
senting  us  to  Congress  as  seeking  a  secret  treaty  of 
peace. 

While  Gerard  is  bargaining  for  large  benefices  for 
Spain,  he  does  not  give  up  the  hope  absolutely  of  an 
understanding  with  England.  France  wished  to  get 
back  her  rank  in  the  world,  but  refused  to  view  with 
complacency  the  humiliation  of  England.  It  was  suf 
ficient  that  her  power  should  be  recognized  and  her 
dignity  restored  by  the  accomplishment  of  a  great  act 


78    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

of  human  justice.  This  was  to  be  seen  when  Charles  III 
proposed  a  medium  term,  which  was  nothing  but  an 
expedient,  the  way  he  conceived  it:  "To  obtain  for  the 
Americans  a  truce  which  they  could  keep  on  prolonging, 
until  they  could  put  themselves  in  a  situation  to  arrange 
things  alone  with  the  mother-country,  and  gradually 
acquire  independence  under  the  auspices  of  the  two 
Crowns."  The  good  sense  and  justice  of  Vergennes 
immediately  discerned  the  danger:  they  would  run  the 
risk  of  authorizing  the  suspicion  that  the  King  of  France 
was  disposed  to  abandon  his  allies;  but  his  generous 
heart  intelligently  perceived  at  the  same  time  what  a 
noble  thing  it  would  be  to  attempt  this  way  of  pro 
ceeding.  "The  King,"  wrote  Vergennes  to  De  Mont- 
morin,  December  24th,  1778,  "conceives  the  idea  that 
it  would  cost  too  much  to  England's  pride  for  France  to 
force  her  to  recognition  of  this  independence.  .  .  .  He 
knows  what  great  powers  owe  to  themselves  and  to 
each  other."  On  the  iQth  of  February  Vergennes  rec 
ommended  to  Gerard  the  plan  of  a  truce:  "In  view  of 
the  almost  unconquerable  repugnance"  that  England 
would  feel  toward  recognizing,  under  pressure  of  French 
arms,  American  independence,  "it  is  a  prudent  and  wise 
policy  to  moderate  the  bitterness  by  proposing  a  happy 
medium  .  .  .  mezzo  termine."  Franklin  entered  into 
these  views.  Attention,  however,  was  turned  away 
from  such  suggestions  by  the  events  that  followed. 

When  Gerard  read  these  lines  of  Vergennes,  he  was 
playing  a  difficult  part  before  Congress,  whence  he  was 
going — I  mean  to  say,  whence  the  young  American 
Union  was  going,  to  come  out  victorious.  We  must 
repeat  the  words  here,  full  of  justice,  which  were  pro 
nounced  in  June,  1779;  there  is  a  fine  feeling  of  truth 
that  lies  in  them. 


SOLDIERS  AND   SAILORS  OF  FRANCE      79 

Gerard  had  then  become  the  counselor,  almost  the 
guide,  of  the  Federal  Assembly,  and  his  salon  seemed  to 
be  a  sort  "of  ante-chamber  to  it."  One  day  the  dele 
gates  from  Maryland  and  those  from  Virginia  came  to 
expose  their  differences  to  him;  they  said  that  they  had 
not  one  thought  in  common,  no  rallying-point.  The 
French  Plenipotentiary  simply  observed  "that  since  the 
two  States  were  federated  with  the  King  of  France,  they 
were  necessarily  federated  with  each  other.11  "My  re 
mark,"  he  added,  "was  seized  upon  and  approved  by 
all  present." 

In  fact,  Gerard  seemed  in  Congress  to  win  the  victory 
of  good  sense  from  the  month  of  March  to  October, 
1779.  The  faction  of  agitators  were  recruited  mainly 
from  the  Eastern  States.  Completely  forgetful  or  in 
different  as  to  the  conditions  of  the  Alliance,  they  tried 
hard  to  obtain  the  consent  of  the  representative  of  France 
to  some  annexations  and  American  claims  which  had 
never  been  heard  of  at  Versailles.  And  these  same 
agitators,  these  "petulant"  fault-finders,  that  Gerard 
found  in  his  path,  obeying  a  secret  thought  of  making  the 
rules  of  war  impossible,  of  prolonging  the  duration  of  it 
by  their  unreasonable  ambitions,  of  spreading  among  the 
people  (by  challenging  the  representations  and  the  ener 
getic  opposition  of  our  Plenipotentiary)  the  suspicion 
that  France  was  not  going  to  do  very  much,  and  that 
she  undertook  war  through  a  spirit  of  domination, 
suzerainty,  and  of  demonstrating,  at  last,  in  creating  em 
barrassments  without  end,  that  their  only  resource  was 
to  throw  themselves  back  into  the  arms  of  England. 

During  the  first  days  of  May  Gerard  went  to  pay  a 
visit  to  Washington  at  his  General  Headquarters,  at 
Middlebrook,  to  discuss  the  conditions  of  an  operation 
in  Georgia,  combined  with  the  fleet  of  D'Estaing,  which 


8o    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

is  soon  going  to  appear  on  the  scene  again.  "The  moder 
ation  and  patriotism  of  the  General,  the  power  of  his 
intellect  and  his  virtues"  were  a  great  consolation  to 
the  Ambassador.  "General  Washington  and  several 
officers  of  his  staff  assured  me  that  if  the  army  received 
information  that  Congress  wished  to  do  anything  against 
the  Alliance,  that  they  would  be  disposed  to  revolt.  .  .  . 
The  principal  officers  of  all  the  Colonies  hastened  to 
give  me  the  most  positive  and  satisfactory  assurance  of 
the  opinions  of  the  people  in  their  States."  Gerard  in  his 
diplomatic  relations  never  expressed  himself  in  flowery 
language,  but  he  addressed  to  his  court  an  exact  account 
of  all  things  with  which  he  was  connected.  "A  cav 
alry  company  of  Philadelphia  composed  of  distinguished 
citizens"  conducted  him  to  the  frontier  about  thirty 
miles  distant ;  two  officers  of  high  rank  awaited  him  at 
Trenton  to  conduct  him  to  the  camp;  Washington  had 
had  a  guard  of  honor,  equal  to  those  of  major-generals, 
placed  at  the  door  of  the  house  reserved  for  him,  the 
Minister  Plenipotentiary,  near  his  own;  and  Gerard, 
having  asked  that  they  withdraw  the  guard,  "the  cap 
tain  who  commanded  them  showed  so  much  disappoint 
ment"  that  he  decided  to  accept  the  honor;  finally  1,600 
soldiers  also  showed  themselves  jealous  to  manoeuvre  in 
perfect  unison  before  the  Minister  of  the  King  of  France. 
Upon  his  return  to  Philadelphia,  he  had  the  chance  to 
observe  the  excellent  indications  of  the  loyal  attach 
ment  of  the  United  States,  in  accord  with  the  assertions 
of  the  officers  at  Middlebrook,  of  the  faithful  spirit  of 
the  colonies.  In  the  sitting  of  Congress,  May  i6th, 
1779,  Mr.  Penn,  of  South  Carolina,  arose  and  thanked 
the  King  for  the  splendid  proofs  of  his  friendship,  to 
which  was  added  another  and  new  demonstration  in  the 
projected  return  of  D'Estaing:  "  I  have  always  been  the 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE      81 

guardian  of  my  honor,"  he  continued,  "my  compatri 
ots  have  confided  theirs  to  me,  and  I  will,  equally, 
guard  the  honor  of  our  ally;  I  declare  enemy  to  my 
country  any  one  who  dares  to  attack  the  honor  of  the 
King  in  this  room,  and  I  will  protect  it  in  my  position 
as  senator,  citizen  and  man."  Nearly  all  the  other 
members,  "with  more  or  less  emphasis  according  to 
their  characters,"  manifested  the  same  sentiments. 
Those  who  were  opposed  kept  silent.  Gerard  author 
ized  different  members  of  Congress  to  represent  to  the 
governments  of  their  respective  States  the  nature  of 
the  attacks  and  the  convincing  force  of  his  answers. 
He  knew  that  a  desire  for  peace,  but  not  a  peace  that 
should  be  an  act  of  ingratitude  was  general :  through  the 
opinions  of  the  political  bodies  in  each  State,  based 
upon  the  manoeuvres  of  the  opposing  parties,  influence 
was  brought  to  bear  upon  the  Federal  Assembly. 
Samuel  Adams  was  obliged  to  defend  himself  in  Boston ; 
and  Richard  Henry  Lee,  in  full  Assembly  of  Virginia, 
was  accused  of  having  sacrificed  the  interests  of  America 
and  the  Alliance.  Let  us  recall  the  admirable  words 
of  Gerard:  "You  are  federated  among  yourselves 
(bound  to  be  united)  because  you  are  federated  with  the 
King."  The  enthusiasm  for  France  was  again  awakened 
in  the  spring  of  1779;  and  at  the  same  time,  and  by 
this  means,  the  national  unity,  the  sentiment  of  a  com 
mon  destiny,  where  antagonisms  and  enmities  melted 
away,  triumphed  over  the  narrow,  egotistical  tendencies 
of  a  destructive  idea  of  independent  States. 

We  can  understand  that  in  such  a  situation  Gerard 
saw  clearly  the  danger  of  a  truce;  he  did  not  receive, 
until  July  6th,  the  dispatch  from  Vergennes  relative  to 
this  subject.  Like  Washington,  he  thought  that  an  ar 
mistice  would  be  fatal  to  the  federation.  Once  the  peo- 


82     SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

pie  would  feel  the  joy  of  peace,  "nothing  could  plunge 
them  again  into  a  situation  of  war,  whence  they  believed 
themselves  free."  "It  seemed  as  though  the  military 
spirit  of  the  nation  was  extinct.'1  Gerard  wrote  on  July 
1 8th:  "The  Americans  often  seem  to  wish  to  be  only 
spectators  of  the  quarrel  between  France  and  England. 
Far  from  favoring  this  indolence,  this  lassitude  so  nat 
ural  to  men's  hearts  who  do  not  think  clearly  and 
strongly  enough  to  keep  up  their  enthusiasm,  strenuous 
efforts  must  be  made  to  push  on  the  war.  It  could  be 
done  by  supporting  a  few  men  of  indefatigable  energy 
and  intelligent  foresight.  In  Virginia,  *  where  the  credit 
of  Lee  is  entirely  lost,'  are  they  not  forming  the  project 
of  having  arms  and  munitions  come  from  France,  and 
of  holding  an  army  themselves  capable  of  repulsing  the 
incursions  of  the  enemy?  The  surging  of  this  volition 
caused  by  the  great  public  danger  must  be  directed  into 
the  right  channel  under  the  guidance  of  France,  around 
the  object,  kept  always  steady  and  bright,  of  national 
deliverance." 

On  July  4th,  1779,  the  anniversary  of  their  declaration 
of  independence,  Congress,  the  magistrates,  the  mili 
tary  commanders  were  present  at  a  religious  service — 
a  Te  Deum — requested  by  the  Minister  Plenipoten 
tiary.  Congress  expressed  the  wish  that  in  the  Assem 
bly  Hall  would  be  placed  the  portraits  of  the  King 
and  Queen  of  France.  In  August  the  news  was  circu 
lated  that  France  and  Spain  had  finally  come  to  terms ; 
this  report  was  true.  In  September  they  learned  of 
the  taking  of  St.  Vincent  and  Grenada  by  Admiral 
d'Estaing.  The  enemies  of  the  Alliance  were  obliged 
to  hide  themselves.  "There  is  general  rejoicing  among 
the  Whigs,"  wrote  Washington  to  La  Fayette,  "while 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE      83 

the  poor  Tories  are  withering  like  flowers  that  fade  in 
the  glow  of  the  sunset." 

Gerard,  exhausted  by  his  duties,  had  asked  for  his 
recall;  De  la  Luzerne,  his  successor,  landed  in  Boston 
on  September  3d,  1779.  The  portrait  of  Gerard  by 
Peale,  made  by  the  request  of  Congress,  has  always 
remained  in  this  Assembly  Hall,  where,  at  one  time, 
many  of  the  members,  rising  from  their  seats  and  draw 
ing  nearer  in  order  to  hear  better  this  great  servitor  of 
France  and  America,  surrounded  him,  familiarly  leaning 
on  his  table,  their  eyes  fixed  upon  his  eyes,  which  hid  no 
secret  thoughts. 


CHAPTER  V 

WAR   IN    1779 

During  the  winter  and  spring  of  1779  the  American 
army  remained  upon  the  defensive.  Up  to  the  month 
of  June  there  had  only  been  incursions  to  punish  or  to 
plunder,  unconnected  with  their  operations.  Events 
of  greater  importance  came  to  pass  on  the  banks  of  the 
Hudson.  The  disputed  post  of  King's  Ferry  protected 
the  principal  road  of  communication  between  the  east 
and  the  centre.  Formerly,  in  1777,  as  Chastellux  re 
calls  it,  the  strongest  place  was  Fort  Clinton,  built 
upon  a  rock  believed  to  be  inaccessible  and  "  defended 
besides  by  a  small  creek  which  flowed  into  the  large 
river."  Nevertheless,  Sir  Henry  Clinton  had  taken  it. 
Raising  on  high  the  British  flag,  "he  climbed  to  the 
top  of  the  rock,  while  the  greater  number  of  his  troops 
descended  the  decline,  passed  over  the  creek  and  took 
the  post."  After  the  defeat  of  Burgoyne,  Fort  Clinton 
had  been  abandoned.  When  Washington,  in  the  spring 
of  1779,  wished  to  make  sure  of  his  position  upon  the 
Hudson,  he  preferred  "to  place  his  communication  and 
concentrate  his  forces  at  West  Point,  because  there  the 
Hudson  made  a  bend  and  prevented  vessels  from  going 
up  stream  with  the  wind  behind  them;  and  the  Island 
of  Constitution,  right  at  this  turn  in  the  river,  in  the 
direction  north-south,  was  perfectly  situated  to  protect 
the  chain  which  closed  this  passage  to  the  ships  of  war." 

Over  the  immense  extent  of  the  United  States  in  its 
wonderful  diversity  of  landscape  there  is  no  grander  or 

84 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE      85 

more  impressive  scenery  than  the  banks  of  the  Hudson 
between  New  York  and  New  Windsor,  a  few  miles  above 
West  Point,  where,  in  June,  Washington  had  his  General 
Headquarters.  Newburgh  is  one  of  the  places  where 
the  beauty  of  the  river  can  be  seen  best,  three  or  four 
times  wider  than  the  finest  streams  of  France.  The 
flow  of  water  from  the  tides  of  the  distant  sea  takes 
the  great  sailing-vessels  (voiliers)  as  far  as  Troy,  into  the 
heart  of  the  continent.  Nearly  always  in  this  vigorous 
and  salubrious  climate  a  resplendent  light  spreads  over 
the  water  into  which  great  basaltic  rocks  have  plunged. 
The  pine-trees  with  their  dark,  soft  shadows  cover  the 
banks  which  sometimes  rise  to  over  200  feet,  while 
again  they  fall  into  long,  low  valleys,  whose  charm,  as  a 
whole,  reminds  one  of  the  lakes  of  the  North.  Chas- 
tellux,  in  1 780,  is  full  of  enthusiasm  over  "  the  magnificent 
picture  of  the  North  River,  flowing  between  the  deep 
ravines  of  the  mountains  through  which  in  ages  past  it 
came  to  force  its  passage.'*  At  ten  miles  to  the  north 
west,  the  highest  summits  of  the  Appalachians  are  blue 
against  a  sky  almost  white  in  the  strong  light.  And 
when  the  stream  has  passed  the  Island  of  Constitution, 
how  fine  it  is  to  see  its  majestic  flow  as  it  goes  straight 
to  meet  the  ocean  without  a  detour !  Upon  this  pano 
rama,  that  military  memories  alone  render  sublime, 
Washington  gazed  as  general-in-chief.  "The  Fort  of 
West  Point,  and  the  formidable  batteries  which  defend 
it,"  says  Chastellux,  who  was  upon  the  east  side  of  the 
river,  "fix  the  attention  upon  the  west  bank;  but  if  you 
raise  your  eyes,  you  can  see  on  all  sides  of  the  peaks 
the  batteries  and  redoubts  jutting  out.  .  .  .  From  the 
Fort  of  West  Point  proper,  which  is  on  the  bank  of  the 
river,  up  to  the  top  of  the  mountain  at  the  foot  of  which 
it  has  been  constructed,  you  can  count  six  different  forts, 


86     SOLDIERS  AND   SAILORS   OF   FRANCE 

formed  in  amphitheatre,  and  protected  by  one  another." 
In  1779,  favorably  disposed  and  intelligent  Frenchmen 
modeled  on  the  slopes  of  this  hill  the  defenses  which 
were  its  salvation.  "The  prodigious  amount  of  work 
that  was  necessary  to  bring  and  pile  upon  these  steep 
rocks  trunks  of  trees  and  huge  pieces  of  stone,  impresses 
upon  the  mind  a  very  different  idea  of  the  Americans 
than  that  which  the  English  Ministry  tried  to  enforce 
upon  Parliament.  A  Frenchman  would  be  surprised 
that  a  nation,  barely  born,  could  spend  in  two  years 
more  than  twelve  million  dollars  in  this  desert ;  he  would 
be  more  surprised  did  he  know  that  these  fortifications 
cost  nothing  to  the  State,  having  been  constructed  by 
the  soldiers  (2,500  men  worked  there  during  the  spring 
of  1779),  to  whom  no  gratuities  were  given,  and  who  did 
not  even  receive  their  pay;  and  no  doubt  he  would  also 
feel  proud  to  learn  that  these  works,  so  fine  and  extensive, 
were  conceived  and  executed  by  two  French  engineers, 
Du  Portail  and  De  Gouvion."  The  work  upon  West 
Point  was  far  from  being  finished,  when  Washington 
decided  to  attack  the  enemy.  The  English  took  posses 
sion  on  June  1st  of  the  posts  of  Stony  Point  and  Ver- 
planck's  Point  upon  either  side  of  the  Hudson.  Upon 
a  length  of  fifty  miles  they  were  masters  of  the  course 
of  the  river,  "and  thus  pushed  back  toward  the  north 
the  very  important  communication  of  the  Jerseys  with 
Connecticut." 

Washington,  according  to  his  own  words,  felt  "the 
necessity  of  doing  something  to  satisfy  the  expectation 
of  the  people,  and  reconcile  them  with  the  apparent  in 
activity  that  the  situation  imposed."  On  the  night  of 
July  1 5th,  after  having  reconnoitered  the  post  himself, 
he  ordered  General  Wayne  to  take  Stony  Point  with 
1,599  men.  Again  Chastellux  is  our  good  chronicler; 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE      87 

"The  fort  consisted  of  an  intrenchment  surrounded  by 
an  abattis  which  crowned  a  steep  rock,  of  which  the  re- 
duct  formed  a  good  redoubt  well  fraised.  During  the 
night  General  Wayne  marched  out  in  three  columns; 
the  principal  one  was  commanded  by  De  Fleury  who, 
without  firing  a  single  shot,  forced  the  abattis  and  in- 
trenchments,  and  entered  among  the  fugitives  in  the 
redoubt.  The  attack  by  the  Americans  was  so  fierce 
and  the  English  so  terrified,  that  De  Fleury  who  had 
entered  first,  found  himself  instantaneously  charged 
with  eleven  swords,  that  were  handed  to  him  asking  for 
quarter.  We  must  add  to  the  honor  of  our  allies,  that 
from  that  moment,  there  was  not  a  drop  of  blood  shed." 
This  display  of  bravery  passed  for  one  of  the  most  bril 
liant  of  the  war;  they  took  543  prisoners;  their  booty 
in  cannon,  mortars,  bombs,  balls,  tents,  and  provisions 
was  considerable.  Three  emblematic  medals  were  struck 
off,  and  one  was  offered  to  Colonel  Fleury.  Unfortu 
nately  the  attack  on  Verplanck's  Point  on  the  opposite 
side  was  not  successful.  It  would  have  been  necessary, 
in  order  to  hold  Stony  Point,  to  put  a  strong  garrison 
there,  and  Washington  was  too  weakly  supported  to  do 
it.  He  had  all  of  the  cannon  taken  away  and  the  works 
of  the  fort  destroyed ;  and  the  Americans  evacuated  the 
post  which  the  English  had  to  rebuild.  On  July  I2th, 
fearing  an  attack  upon  West  Point,  the  general  went 
there  and  took  up  his  position.  The  situation  had 
not  changed  when  the  fleet  of  Admiral  d'Estaing  came 
to  anchor  at  the  mouth  of  the  Savannah  River. 

D'Estaing  had  just  finished  his  brilliant  campaign 
in  the  West  Indies;  he  had  cast  anchor  on  July  3ist 
at  Cape  Francais,  San  Domingo,  and  found  an  order 
there  to  return  to  France  with  the  squadron  of  Toulon, 


88     SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

Why  did  he  not  obey?  Because  De  Bretigny,  French 
consul  at  Charleston,  and  General  Lincoln,  governor  of 
Georgia,  begged  him  to  come  to  America.  His  refusal 
would  have  been  misunderstood:  "  I  would  certainly  have 
been  declared  a  coward  had  I  not  attacked  Savannah. 
.  .  .  When  one  is  far  away  one  must  accustom  one's 
self  to  this  kind  of  punishment;  but  London,  America, 
and  even  Paris  would  have  done  worse  than  dishonor 
me;  they  would  have  supposed  that  I  had  secret  orders 
not  to  go  to  the  aid  of  the  Americans.  The  result 
would  have  been  an  inexhaustible  source  of  complaints 
and  suspicions  between  the  two  nations;  perhaps  a 
dissolution  of  friendship  would  have  been  the  conse 
quence.'*  This  motive  was  powerful  enough,  but  the 
real,  the  true,  decisive  one  was  the  appearance  of  success. 
He  gathered  together,  then,  at  Martinique,  Guade 
loupe,  and  San  Domingo,  3,750  men  from  the  regiments 
of  Viennois,  Champagne,  Auxerrois,  Armagnac,  Cam- 
bresis,  Gatinais,  Agenais;  and  on  September  1st,  1779, 
after  sixteen  days  at  sea,  he  anchored  off  the  river  St. 
John.  From  there  he  wrote  to  the  governor  of  Charles 
ton:  "I  hope  that  the  prompt  success  of  the  enter 
prise  will  justify  my  proceedings  at  the  court  of  Ver 
sailles.  I  am  daring  to  neglect  for  a  short  time  the  care 
of  our  own  possessions,  to  occupy  myself  with  those  of 
our  allies;  but  I  should  become  personally  criminal,  and 
I  should  injure  the  general  welfare  of  both  nations,  if  the 
troops,  that  I  land  in  a  place  agreed  upon,  remain  more 
than  eight  days.  ...  All  will  depend  upon  the  activity 
of  your  troops,  the  promptness  of  your  orders,  the  uni 
formity  of  the  movements  of  your  army,  of  the  good  un 
derstanding  between  your  troops  and  ours,  and  the 
helpful,  quick,  and  secret  information  that  you  are  going 
to  send  to  me.  .  .  ."  It  is  quite  evident  that  he  is 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE      89 

uneasy,  restless;  at  the  moment  of  acting  he  wonders 
if  he  is  right;  he  wishes  to  put  all  the  chances  on  his 
side,  to  be  sure  to  foresee  and  surmount  all  difficulties, 
and  at  the  same  time  to  improvise  a  rapid,  overwhelm 
ing  victory.  By  his  minute  details  and  prompt  res 
olution  did  he  hope  to  persuade  or  to  force  the  Goddess 
of  Fate  ?  She  resisted  his  efforts. 

In  the  first  place,  on  September  2d,  there  was  a  terri 
ble  wind-storm;  anchors  lost,  rudders  broken,  keels 
damaged.  Then  from  the  insurgents  but  little  news 
and  food-supply.  But  the  principal  trouble,  the  damage 
to  the  ships  which  would  take  forty-eight  hours  to  re 
pair,  put  D'Estaing  "into  the  sad  necessity  of  acting 
where  he  ought  not,  and  where  he  did  not  wish  to." 
Instead  of  attacking  Georgia  from  the  north,  he  turned 
around  and  made  an  attack  upon  Savannah.  And  again 
while  his  advance-guard  went  up  the  river,  a  stream  with 
out  any  depth,  where  they  had  to  sail  with  sounding-line 
in  hand  continually,  and  before  they  could  land  300  "half- 
drowned"  men  on  the  Island  of  Thybe"e,  "separated  from 
Savannah  by  marshes  and  several  creeks,"  Prevost 
had  had  the  time  to  withdraw  the  garrison  and  spike 
the  cannon;  and  when,  on  September  6th,  supported 
on  his  left  by  1,800  Americans  under  General  Lincoln, 
at  the  price  of  extreme  difficulties,  he  taking  up  his  posi 
tion  a  mile  from  the  place,  General  Prevost  was  ready 
to  withstand  him.  Six  hundred  men  of  the  old  English 
Guard,  "crossing  the  deepest  of  the  marshes,  overcoming 
the  greatest  obstacles,"  from  Bedford  and  Port  Royal, 
came  to  bring  to  6,000  men  aid  for  the  defense.  The 
English  general  rejected  the  summons  of  Count  d'Es- 
taing:  the  struggle  was  going  to  be  hard. 

"I  must  admit  that  in  deciding  to  attack  by  main 
force,  I  saw  a  multitude  of  obstacles,  but  extreme 


90     SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

bravery  can  conquer  everything,  and  I  thought  that  the 
time  was  ripe  to  prove  to  the  Americans  by  a  brilliant 
action,  although  it  might  be  a  bloody  one,  that  the 
King's  troops  knew  how  to  dare  everything  for  them." 
To  undertake  everything  rather  than  retreat.  Person 
ally,  he  dared  everything.  During  the  night  of  the 
23d  and  24th  of  September,  "at  the  head  of  300  men  he 
opened  a  trench  at  a  stone's  throw  from  the  cannon  of 
the  English  intrenchment."  In  ten  days  the  siege 
battery  was  ready  for  operations:  eighteen  of  twelve- 
pound  and  four  of  six-pound  cannon,  and  nine  mortars. 
The  enemy's  artillery,  which  from  the  beginning  had  not 
ceased  to  shell  our  works,  was  soon  reduced  to  only  two 
cannon  that  were  in  a  state  to  be  used;  "but  the  English 
intrenchments,  constructed  of  abattis  and  sand,  were 
not  damaged;  and  the  balls  from  the  cannon  buried 
themselves  in  the  earth-works  without  forming  any 
openings  or  forcing  it  to  cave  in."  Making  a  sudden 
final  attack,  D'Estaing  ordered  the  assault.  The  prin 
cipal  objective,  the  redoubt  of  Spring  Hill,  was  at  the 
English  right.  It  was  expressly  forbidden  to  shoot, 
under  penalty  of  death,  before  having  taken  the  re 
doubt  and  closed  on  the  intrenchments.  There  were 
officers  on  the  flanks  of  the  columns,  who  were  ready 
to  arrest  every  soldier  who  would  shoot  before  re 
ceiving  the  order.  All  soldiers  who  would  disband  to 
pillage  without  having  received  permission  would  be 
punished  by  death  without  mercy.  The  Viscount  de 
Bethisy  commanded  the  advance-guard,  the  Count  de 
Dillon  the  column  of  the  right,  the  Baron  de  Steding 
the  column  of  the  left.  The  Viscount  de  Noailles  was 
in  reserve.  D'Estaing,  with  Fontanges,  remained  wher 
ever  his  presence  was  necessary.  Immediately  after 
the  French  column,  the  £lite  of  the  American  infantry 


SOLDIERS  AND   SAILORS   OF   FRANCE      91 

was  to  march,  under  the  orders  of  Colonel  Laurens, 
preceded  by  the  cavalry  under  General  Pulaski. 

At  half  past  three  on  the  morning  of  October  Qth  the 
English,  on  the  alert,  received  the  assailants  with  such 
force  "that  they  were  literally  cut  to  pieces/'  During 
the  day  the  grape-shot  decimated  the  columns  that  con 
verged  from  the  same  point  of  attack.  We  must  note 
here  the  brave  act  of  "friend  Linch,"  which  is  reported 
from  hearsay  by  the  Count  de  Segur.  D'Estaing  tried 
to  bring  his  men  together  again.  "In  the  most  critical 
moment  of  this  bloody  affair,  he,  being  at  the  head  of 
the  column  of  the  right,  told  Linch  to  carry  an  order 
to  the  column  of  the  left."  They  were  in  range  of  a 
terrible  fire.  Linch,  "instead  of  passing  through  the 
centre  or  behind  the  columns,  coolly  advanced  into  the 
midst  of  this  hail  of  balls,  bullets,  and  grape-shot  that 
the  French  and  English  were  firing  at  each  other.  D'Es 
taing  called  to  him  to  take  another  direction;  but  he 
went  and  returned  under  this  'arch  of  fire,'  'because,1 
he  said,  'it  was  the  shortest  way."  D'Estaing  was 
wounded  twice ;  he  remained  at  his  post ;  and  three  times 
the  French  soldiers  were  brought  back  to  the  charge 
under  the  eyes  of  their  wounded  general:  three  times 
they  were  hurled  back.  Twice  the  American  flag  was 
planted  upon  the  English  intrenchments.  Many  offi 
cers  were  missing;  the  troops  were  worn  out;  then  came 
the  retreat. 

Fontanges  was  seriously  wounded  in  the  hip;  Pulaski 
was  mortally  wounded.  D'Estaing  shut  himself  up 
in  his  tent  and  refused  to  speak  for  three  days.  When 
the  surgeon  questioned  him  about  his  condition,  the 
only  answer  he  could  draw  from  him  was:  "I  have  a 
deep  wound  which  is  not  in  your  power  to  cure."  From 
the  loth  the  order  was  given  to  re-embark  baggage  and 


92     SOLDIERS  AND   SAILORS  OF   FRANCE 

cannon.  It  was  only  by  the  28th,  after  unavoidable 
delays,  that  the  order  to  raise  anchor  was  given.  The 
Count  de  Grasse  and  La  Motte- Piquet  had  already 
departed  for  the  West  Indies;  a  furious  tempest  arose; 
11  half  the  fleet  was  driven  from  its  moorings,  and  the 
vessels  not  anchored  were  forced  to  go  far  from  the  coast ; 
finally,  the  Languedoc,  the  Admiral's  ship,  disappeared." 
Left  alone,  not  being  able  to  rally  his  squadron,  he  set 
sail  for  Brest.  "On  December  nth,"  says  the  Corre- 
spondance  Secrete,  "  armed  with  his  glorious  crutches, 
he  left  Brest  to  go  by  short  journeys  to  Versailles.  The 
King  ordered  an  apartment  to  be  made  ready  for  him, 
and  prepared  to  embrace  him.  The  brave  Breton  peo 
ple  covered  his  carriage  with  crowns  of  laurel."  D'Es- 
taing  was  very  bitter,  but  his  friends  tried  to  console 
him,  in  a  delicate  way,  for  the  misfortunes  of  destiny; 
public  opinion,  so  hard  on  many  others,  was  kind  and 
faithful  enough  to  him.  One  day,  when  present  at  a 
representation  of  Gaston  and  Bayard,  at  the  verses  which 
evoked  the  virtues  of  his  ancestor,  so  like  his  own: 
"D'Estaing  the  hope  of  the  country,  with  heart  all 
aflame  .  .  .  the  entire  audience  applauded  the  victor, 
the  conqueror  of  Grenada;  Savannah  was  pardoned." 

In  his  report  to  Congress,  General  Lincoln  gave  him 
full  credit:  "He  proved  that  he  had  had  at  heart  the  in 
terests  of  America,  when  he  resolved  to  carry  the  town  by 
storm,  despairing  of  success  any  other  way."  In  truth, 
with  wonderful  bravery,  D'Estaing  had  exposed  his  life 
and  shed  his  blood  for  the  American  cause.  Savannah 
is  a  small  town  of  old  Southern  homes  surrounded 
by  magnolias,  oleanders,  and  palmettos.  Amid  its 
gardens,  where  the  primitive  trees  of  the  forests  survive 
in  their  splendor,  stands  a  monument  to  Pulaski  and 
one  to  Sergeant  Jasper.  The  brave  action  of  the  French 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE      93 

Admiral,   who   fought   there   like   an   ordinary  soldier, 
deserves  also  to  be  remembered. 

We  did  not  give  back  Savannah  to  the  Americans; 
but  the  appearance  of  the  French  fleet  off  the  coast  of 
Georgia  had  suspended  the  progress  of  the  English 
offensive  in  the  Southern  colonies.  Better  than  that, 
General  Clinton  in  New  York  was  so  greatly  alarmed  that 
he  ordered,  on  the  2 yth  of  October,  the  evacuation  of 
Rhode  Island.  Thus,  while  D'Estaing  failed  in  the 
South,  simply  by  the  false  report  of  his  going  North, 
he  gave  back  Newport  to  the  Americans,  where  he  had 
no  intention  of  going,  but  where  he  would  like  to  have 
gone  the  year  before.  Such  are  the  accidental  causes 
which  occur  to  humiliate  the  pride  of  men  of  action. 
D'Estaing,  convalescent,  should  have  read  Montaigne 
again  (II,  20):  ".  .  .  For  the  customs  of  life,  and  the 
service  of  the  public,  we  can  have  excess  of  purity  and 
perspicacity  in  our  minds.  .  .  .  This  punctilious  activ 
ity  of  spirit,  this  restless,  changeable  volubility  is  a 
hindrance  to  our  negotiations.  .  .  .  There  is  no  need 
of  such  profound  and  subtle  enlightenment:  we  lose 
ourselves  in  so  many  different  forms  and  contradic 
tions.  ..." 

Now,  while  D'Estaing  was  betrayed  by  evil  fortune, 
far  away  from  him,  in  the  English  Channel,  Du  Couedic 
was  fighting  a  brilliant  battle.  On  October  6th,  1779, 
the  Surveillante  met  the  Quebec,  commanded  by  the  brave 
Farmer.  The  greatest  thing  to  be  admired,  was  not  the 
heroic  tenacity  of  the  crews  of  the  two  ships  and  their  of 
ficers;  it  was  not  that  for  four  hours,  first  at  pistol  range, 
then  from  deck  to  deck,  while  balls,  grape-shot,  and 
musketry  tore  the  two  decks  that  Du  Couedic,  without 
relaxing  courage,  with  his  face  streaming  with  blood, 


94     SOLDIERS  AND   SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

his  abdomen  pierced  by  a  ball,  still  had  the  energy  to 
throw  his  men  into  the  fight  on  deck;  nor  Labenti- 
naye,  after  having  his  arm  cut  off,  returned  to  his  post ; 
or  that  Feuquieres,  mortally  wounded  upon  the  galley 
at  the  head  of  the  fleet,  sought  until  the  supreme  moment 
to  execute  the  orders  of  his  commander;  that  two 
frigates,  under  their  broken  masts,  encumbered  with  the 
dead  and  dying,  armed  for  the  last  assault;  and  that 
Captain  Farmer,  suffering  from  his  death-wound,  with 
sublime  coolness  kept  up  the  fight  upon  his  ship- 
not  all  of  these  brave  exploits,  but  Couedic's  last  action 
was  the  most  worthy  of  admiration.  Upon  seeing  that 
the  Quebec  had  taken  fire,  he  suddenly  turned  his  at 
tention  to  but  one  thing:  to  save  the  English  sailors, 
"whose  frigate  was  burning  and  sinking  with  its  flag 
flowing  from  the  mast."  "He  treated  them,  not  like 
prisoners,  but  like  brothers  saved  from  a  shipwreck." 
Du  Couedic  survived  his  wounds  but  three  months. 
The  English  engraver  Carter  designed,  in  order  to  do 
him  honor,  the  engraving  which  represents  the  end  of 
this  famous  engagement,  and  had  it  given  to  the  widow 
of  the  great  naval  hero  through  our  Minister  of  Marine, 
De  Castries,  with  the  following  letter:  "Permit  me,  in 
recalling  to  you  the  sad  memory  of  your  illustrious  hus 
band  most  worthy  to  be  cherished,  to  represent  him  in 
the  greatest  moment  of  his  life.  If,  on  one  hand,  I 
bring  back  your  sorrow,  on  the  other,  I  believe  that  I 
offer  to  you  the  sweetest  consolation,  in  seeking  to  per 
petuate  an  action  which  alone  renders  his  name  im 
mortal:  it  is  an  honor  justly  due  to  you,  and  when 
posterity  shall  know  that  this  tribute  was  paid  him  by 
a  stranger  and  an  enemy,  the  glory  of  the  heroism  of 
Du  Couedic  will  appear  the  more  perfect.  Such  is 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE      95 

my  intention;  and,  I  believe  that  I  will  have  been  fully 
repaid,  if  you  deign  to  accept  this  poor  drawing  of  the 
great  and  noble  picture  that  this  hero  has  given  to  the 
whole  of  Europe,  in  fighting  an  enemy  worthy  of  him." 


CHAPTER  VI 

ACTIVITY  OF  LA  FAYETTE  IN  FRANCE — POLITICAL  CRISIS 

IN  THE   UNITED   STATES — WASHINGTON'S 

DETERMINATION 

La  Fayette  had  left  Boston  on  January  I4th,  1779, 
upon  a  frigate  of  thirty-six  cannon,  the  Alliance,  equipped 
at  the  expense  of  Congress,  and  commanded  by  a  cap 
tain,  native  of  St.  Malo,  in  the  service  of  the  United 
States.  Among  the  sailors  on  board  there  were  twenty- 
five  English  deserters.  Pontgibaud,  with  his  usual 
ardor,  tells  how  these  unhappy  wretches  made  up  a 
plot  to  assassinate  all  of  the  French  officers  except  La 
Fayette,  whom  they  were  going  to  take  to  London; 
how  they  were  discovered,  disarmed,  and  put  in  irons, 
and  how  finally,  on  February  6th,  the  Alliance  cast 
anchor  in  the  harbor  of  Brest.  The  marquis  was  at 
Versailles  on  the  I2th.  He  had,  for  the  mere  form's 
sake,  as  a  souvenir  of  his  disobedience,  to  be  put  under 
arrest  for  eight  days;  then  he  entered  into  his  glory. 
But  he  was  to  have  other  adventures. 

He  tried  first  to  prevail  upon  the  Ministry  to  make 
the  conquest  of  Canada.  But  De  Vergennes's  opinions 
were  not  to  be  shaken.  Then  he  suddenly  proposed  an 
expedition  against  England:  the  famous  Captain  Paul 
Jones  commanding  a  vessel  of  fifty  cannon,  the  Bon- 
homme  Richard,  and  some  frigates  armed  at  the  expense 
of  the  King  under  the  American  flag  could  transport  a 
small  army  commanded  by  La  Fayette  upon  the  west 
coast  of  England.  To  the  profit  of  American  finances 

96 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE      97 

they  could  ransom  Bristol,  Liverpool,  and  some  other 
commercial  towns.  "In  this  way,"  said  La  Fayette, 
"these  cities  could  be  justly  punished  for  the  part  they 
have  taken  in  the  vexatious  imposts  against  the  Colonies 
to  which  their  prosperity  is  due";  and  Necker,  who  held 
the  purse-strings  of  the  exchequer  very  tight,  Necker, 
who  in  his  official  position  as  controller-general,  opposed, 
to  quote  Franklin,  "all  the  propositions  to  aid  America 
in  money,"  was  notably  pleased.  But  again  with  this 
proposition  there  was  slowness,  irresolution;  the  mar 
quis,  willing  or  not,  had  to  content  himself  with  the  con 
solation  that  a  small  command  and  an  expedition  of 
this  kind  was  not  in  keeping  with  his  position. 

An  incursion  on  a  more  extensive  scale  was  then 
planned.  On  June  I3th,  at  Saint  Jean-d'Angely,  where 
he  went  to  rejoin  his  command,  he  received  word  to 
go  immediately  to  Versailles  as  quartermaster's  aid, 
under  the  orders  of  Lieutenant-General  Count  de  Vaux, 
commanding  the  troops  assembled  in  several  camps  in 
Brittany  and  Normandy,  in  view  of  the  descent  on  Eng 
land  that  had  been  contemplated  for  some  time,  and 
which  seemed  about  to  be  accomplished.  His  post  was 
at  Havre. 

As  agreed  with  Franklin,  he  continued  to  fill,  by 
correspondence,  his  function,  wherein  he  excelled,  as 
mediator.  Already  on  June  I2th,  from  Saint  Jean- 
d'Angely,  he  addressed  a  long  letter  to  the  President 
of  Congress.  After  having  spoken  of  the  "ardent 
sympathy  of  his  compatriots  for  America,"  after  having 
rendered  thanks  to  Congress  for  the  royal  favors  that, 
through  its  high  recommendation,  had  been  shown  to 
him,  and  also  having  spoken  of  the  honorable  welcome 
which  all  France  gave  him  as  defender  of  American  lib 
erty,  he  then  comes  to  give  advice  as  an  American  speak- 


98     SOLDIERS  AND   SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

ing  to  Americans:  "I  must  say  with  sincerity,  that 
nothing  is  as  prejudicial  to  our  interests,  to  our  impor 
tance,  and  to  our  reputation  in  Europe,  as  the  stories 
about  the  disputes  and  divisions  among  the  Whigs. 
Nothing  would  induce  me  to  touch  upon  this  delicate 
subject  except  for  the  disagreeable  experiences  that  I 
have  had  every  day,  and  the  things  that  I  have  heard 
on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic,  and  the  arguments  I  have 
had  to  combat." 

He  spoke  still  more  urgently  to  Washington:  "For 
the  love  of  God,  stop  these  quarrels  among  yourselves, 
which  when  told  over  here,  do  more  harm  than  anything 
else  to  the  interests  and  reputation  of  America.  On  the 
other  hand,  [division,  alas !  which  we  will  see  grow 
worse]  there  are  two  American  parties  in  France: 
Adams  and  Lee  on  one  side,  and  Doctor  Franklin  and 
his  friends  on  the  other.  These  divisions  distress  me 
to  such  an  extent  that  I  dare  not  frequent  the  society 
of  these  gentlemen  as  much  as  I  should  like,  for  fear  of 
occasioning  discussions,  and  making  matters  worse.*' 
Here  the  mediator  retires. 

What  they  were  saying  "on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic," 
we  may  have  some  idea  by  the  following  malicious  lines 
that  were  circulated  during  the  autumn  of  1779.  The 
Memoires  Secretes  tells  the  story  of  a  man  who,  through 
the  interest  of  Abbe  Raynal,  embarked  for  the  New 
World  and  found  there  only  anarchy  and  indolence: 
"I  have  seen  the  Quaker  pacifist  whose  pride  pierced 
his  cloak.  .  .  ." 

"Yes,  I  have  seen  this  upright  folk, 
Whom  honest  men  would  fain  extol, 

Set  free  the  black  man  from  his  yoke 
And  subjugate  the  white  man's  soul. 

A  gloomy  faith,  a  rugged  land, 


SOLDIERS  AND   SAILORS   OF   FRANCE      99 

The  thirst  for  gold,  a  cruel  heart; 
He  only  needs  a  Cromwell's  hand 
To  guide  his  dark  and  sinister  part."* 

Franklin,  the  worthy  and  respectable  Franklin,  must 
have  been  amused  when  he  saw  himself  represented  as 
an  "octogenarian  chameleon.'*  Hancock,  the  former 
President  of  Congress,  was  not  spared. 

It  is  worthy  to  be  noticed  that  Washington  was  also 
described  in  verse: 

"O  leader  faithful,  valorous,  wise, 

Thy  very  foes  must  reverence  thee; 
On  every  side  true  friends  arise 

And  in  thy  life  a  model  see. 
Here  frugal  nature  still  doth  hide 

From  jealous  eyes  her  prodigal  power, 
To  one  great  man  she  points  with  pride 

And  on  one  saviour  pours  her  dower,  "f 

These  awkward  rhymes  were  probably  composed  by 
a  French  officer  who  had  served  under  Washington,  and 
had  seen  him  striving  with  the  suspicious  factions  of 
Congress.  Another  person  who  claimed  to  be  a  sailor 

*"Moi,  j'ai  vu  ces  hommes  integres 
Vantes  par  tant  d'honn£tes  gens 
D'une  main  franchir  des  negres 
Et  de  1'autre  achever  des  blancs. 
Un  culte  austere,  un  sol  agreste, 
La  soif  de  Tor  .  .  .  un  cceur  cruel; 
Pour  guider  son  penchant  funeste, 
II  n'attend  qu'un  nouveau  Cromwell." 

t"  Sensible,  valeureux,  fidele, 
Et  reVere  de  1'ennemi, 
L'honnete  homme  en  fait  son  modele 
Et  1'homme  aimable  son  ami. 
Ici  la  nature  e"conome 
N'irrite  point  les  yeux  jaloux ! 
Elle  n'a  produit  qu'un  grand  homme, 
Mais  il  est  le  salut  de  tous." 


ioo    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

connected  with  the  West  India  Company  and  "entirely 
free  from  prejudices"  showed  his  hand  at  once.  He 
complained  that  in  sending  artisans  to  the  Americans, 
and  giving  them  the  secrets  of  our  trades  and  indus 
tries,  we  might  put  them  in  a  way  to  do  without  the 
merchandise  from  Europe.  It  is  reasonable  to  suppose 
that  this  discontented  talk,  wherein  personal  spiteful- 
ness  is  to  be  seen,  may  have  found  some  credit  among 
those  who  were  ruined,  or  had  been  directly  concerned 
in  the  immense  losses  of  the  French  maritime  commerce. 
"The  Court  of  France,"  writes  Franklin  to  Congress, 
June  2d,  1779,  "continues  to  be  our  cordial  friend,  and 
the  whole  nation  is  strongly  in  favor  of  our  cause,  with 
exception  of  some  Creoles  and  other  merchants  of  the 
West  Indies  whose  losses  have  made  them  more  or  less 
indifferent." 

There  was  scarcely  any  attention  paid  to  this  grum 
bling.  In  that  fine  letter  that  Franklin  wrote  to  Wash 
ington  a  little  later,  March  5th,  1780,  there  is  not  a  trace 
of  diplomacy:  "Some  day  you  will  come  to  France. 
On  this  side  of  the  water  you  would  enjoy  the  great 
reputation  that  you  have  acquired.  It  would  be  free 
from  the  reproaches  made  by  the  jealousy  and  envy  of 
fellow  citizens,  the  contemporaries  of  a  great  man  who 
strive  to  cast  a  slur  upon  him  while  he  is  living. 
You  would  know  here  what  posterity  will  say  of  Wash 
ington,  and  you  would  enjoy  your  glory,  for  a  thou 
sand  miles  have  almost  the  same  effect  as  a  thousand 
years.  The  murmur  of  all  these  passions  would  not 
know  how  to  cross  either  time  or  space.  As  to  the 
present,  I  enjoy  this  pleasure  in  your  place;  for  often 
the  old  generals  of  this  martial  country,  who  study  the 
map  of  America  and  mark  all  of  your  operations,  speak 
before  me  of  your  exploits  with  sincere  approbation  and 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  0?  FRANCE    i 


great  enthusiasm;  they  agree  in  giving  you  the  title  of 
one  of  the  greatest  military  leaders  of  the  century." 

At  this  time,  Paris,  as  well  as  all  France,  was  enthusi 
astic  about  Paul  Jones.  Before  Fenimore  Cooper  and 
our  Alexandre  Dumas  had  related  the  exploits  of  the 
commodore,  Mme.  Vigee-Lebrun  left  us  a  fine  portrait 
a  la  plume  of  this  illustrious  corsair:  "a  poet  in  his  leisure 
hours,  an  ardent,  modest  soul  who  never  spoke  of  his 
own  actions,  but  talked  very  well  and  with  much  in 
telligence  on  all  other  subjects.  A  Scotchman  by  birth, 
and  it  is  said,  son  of  a  gardener."  —  On  September  23d, 
1779,  while  cruising  along  the  coast  of  Scotland,  after 
a  bloody  combat,  just  at  the  moment  that  his  vessel, 
the  Bonhomme  Richard,  was  about  to  sink  under  him, 
he  jumped  on  board  the  Serapis  and  carried  her  off: 

"Paul  Jones  in  a  battle  manoeuvred  right  well 

In  outwitting  the  foes  whom  he  fought; 
As  a  clever  coquette  outmanoeuvres  us  all, 

When  we  think  we  have  caught  her,  we're  caught.*'  * 

Marechal  de  Biron  had  the  regiment  of  the  Gardes- 
Franfaises  on  parade  to  show  them  to  the  commander 
of  the  Bonhomme  Richard.  Paris  and  Nantes  were 
infatuated  with  him.  All  society  rushed  to  the  win 
dows,  or  hurried  to  the  opera,  to  see  the  commodore. 

On  October  I7th  the  army  of  the  Count  de  Vaux  was 
disbanded.  And  now  since  the  project  of  the  attack 
upon  England  is  given  up,  what  will  La  Fayette  do? 
From  the  month  of  August  he  had  been  urging  an 
attack  upon  England  in  America;  he  had  the  idea 
in  mind  continually  that  of  late,  through  political 

*"  Jones,  dans  les  combats,  en  ressources  fertiles, 

Agit  envers  ses  ennemis, 

Comme  agit  envers  nous  une  coquette  habile 
On  croit  la  prendre,  et  Ton  est  pris," 


104    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

fleet  and  an  army  corps  to  be  disembarked  at  Rhode 
Island.  With  him  was  De  Cornay,  War  Commissioner. 
Before  making  the  acquaintance  of  Rochambeau,  let 
us  see  what  has  been  taking  place  in  America  since  the 
departure  of  D'Estaing. 

The  preparations  for  war  were  resumed.  At  the  same 
time  that  he  evacuated  Rhode  Island  in  order  to  con 
centrate  his  forces  on  New  York,  Sir  Henry  Clinton 
had  abandoned  the  posts  of  Stony  Point  and  Verplanck's 
Point  on  the  Hudson.  By  the  end  of  September,  re 
inforcements  arrived  for  him  from  Europe.  It  is  re 
markable  that  the  English  general  did  not  then  think 
of  taking  back  the  positions  that  he  had  left  to  the 
Americans.  It  was  toward  the  south  that  he  wished  to 
make  the  strongest  resistance.  Seven  thousand  men, 
under  the  escort  of  Admiral  Arbuthnot,  were  conducted 
to  South  Carolina.  Still  the  two  parties  (the  English 
and  the  Americans)  watched  each  other  closely,  both 
uneasy  as  to  the  consequences  of  a  repulse.  And  the 
English  did  not  seem  very  anxious  to  engage  in  uncer 
tain  operations  since,  in  spite  of  their  success  at  Savan 
nah,  they  did  not  undertake  immediately  the  siege  of 
Charleston.  The  middle  of  September  the  Americans 
were  able  to  reinforce  their  army  in  the  South.  Wash 
ington  realized,  not  without  apprehension,  that  the 
Virginia  regiments,  in  order  to  reach  South  Carolina, 
where  they  would  perhaps  have  to  endure  hard  fighting, 
had  to  pass  through  their  own  State,  whence  they  had 
been  kept  away  a  long  time  by  the  war.  He  recom 
mended  to  General  Woodford  severe  measures  against 
desertion.  He  had  faith  in  the  honor  of  the  troops, 
but  he  counted  none  the  less  upon  strict  discipline; 
he  ordered  the  officers  to  hold  their  men  well  in  hand, 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE     105 

to  pay  constant  and  rigorous  attention  to  details  of 
equipment  and  manoeuvre.  By  these  instructions  we 
feel  that  a  pupil  of  Frederick  II,  Baron  Steuben,  had 
gained  some  influence  over  him:  "The  troops/'  said 
Washington,  "must  move  like  a  piece  of  clockwork." 

During  the  winter  the  American  general,  Lord  Stirling, 
invaded  Staten  Island,  and  to  retaliate  the  English 
made  a  raid  in  New  Jersey  upon  Elizabethtown :  there 
was  a  skirmish  near  White  Plains.  Finally,  in  the 
spring,  Charleston  was  besieged  by  water  and  land.  The 
resistance  lasted  from  the  1st  of  April  until  the  nth  of 
May.  As  the  general  assault  was  about  to  be  made, 
General  Lincoln  yielded  to  the  supplications  of  the  in 
habitants  and  capitulated.  South  Carolina  was  rich; 
she  thought  too  much  of  her  plantations  for  her  firmness 
of  mind  not  to  be  easily  shaken.  Through  fear  of  fire 
and  pillage,  the  richest  landowners  not  only  affirmed 
that  they  were  good  Tories,  but  offered  to  fight  for  the 
King.  The  same  parties  a  little  later,  at  the  approach 
of  Gates,  became  Americans  again;  for  in  their  hearts 
the  Carolinians  hated  the  yoke;  and  rather  than  sub 
mit  to  it  any  longer  they  began  to  emigrate.  Lord 
Cornwallis,  in  July  and  September,  had  to  forbid  the 
sale  of  lands  and  cattle.  It  can  be  said  that  if  the  fall 
of  Charleston  led  to  some  disloyalty,  at  the  end  of  a 
few  months  of  English  occupation,  it  had  restored  the 
spirit  of  independence.* 

In  June  General  Knyphausen  gathered  together  all 
the  forces  in  New  York  and  marched  across  New  Jersey. 
He  had  several  encounters  with  the  American  troops, 
of  which  the  most  violent  was  at  Springfield;  and  he 
had  to  retire  to  Staten  Island.  About  this  time  Sir 
Henry  Clinton  was  returning  from  Charleston;  Wash- 
*See  Le  Boucher,  La  Guerre  de  V Independence  des  Etats-Unis. 


io6    SOLDIERS  AND   SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

ington  believed  that  he  would  try  to  force  the  passage 
of  the  Hudson;  he  then  withdrew  his  army  from  the 
river  so  that  he  could  rapidly  face  an  attack,  either  in 
the  mountainous  region  near  the  North  River,  or  upon 
the  New  Jersey  plains. 

Such  was  the  situation  on  July  7th  when  Rocham- 
beau's  fleet  carrying  the  French  expeditionary  corps 
appeared  off  Rhode  Island.  Henceforth  Washington 
had  but  one  thought:  to  take  New  York.  But  we 
are  going  to  see  the  fate  of  the  war  decided  in  the 
South. 

The  indomitable  will  of  Washington  and  his  clear 
mind,  aided  by  a  number  of  men  full  of  energetic  spirit, 
continued  to  hold  up  the  faltering  destiny  of  America. 
By  an  effort,  constantly  threatened,  he  averted  the 
consequences  of  a  ruinous  anarchy.  The  young  re 
public  suffered  a  serious  crisis  of  authority.  According 
to  the  words  of  Joseph  Jones,  member  of  the  Federal 
Assembly,  the  Congress  "had  by  degrees  given  back  or 
given  up,  to  the  different  States,  the  exercise  of  their 
rights,  and  the  powers  that  they  had  claimed  and  used 
to  the  fullest  extent,  so  that  there  barely  remained  one 
duty  to  Congress — the  direction  of  foreign  affairs.  The 
resources  in  wheat  and  cattle  were  not  wanting;  but 
Washington  noted  in  the  people  an  extreme  avarice 
and  indolence,"  a  dogged  hostility  against  all  measures 
which  would  interfere  with  their  present  interest,  so 
that  a  more  general  and  far-reaching  good  would  ensue. 
He  had  seen  enough  of  it  during  this  terrible  winter  of 
1780,  when  his  soldiers  were  dying  with  hunger.  In 
order  to  feed  this  army  upon  which  depended  the  salva 
tion  of  the  country,  Washington  had  to  establish  requisi 
tion.  But,  aside  from  the  fact  that  the  state  of  the  roads 
rendered  transportation  often  impracticable,  the  owners 


SOLDIERS  AND   SAILORS   OF   FRANCE     107 

showed  very  little  haste  to  furnish  their  cattle  and  wheat. 
In  vain  the  estimation  would  be  made  in  concert  with 
the  magistrate  of  the  colony  and  the  commissary  officer, 
all  the  precautions  taken  so  as  not  to  hurt  the  feelings 
of  these  friends  of  independence,  or  their  extreme  sus 
ceptible  sense  of  ownership  .  .  .  but  nothing  could  de 
stroy  this  distrust.  We  can  imagine  what  the  army  must 
have  suffered  for  Washington  to  have  written  the  follow 
ing  words  to  the  civil  authorities  of  New  Jersey,  in  Janu 
ary,  1780:  "The  soldiers  cannot  bear  much  longer  the  ex 
tremities  to  which  they  are  reduced.  Pressed  by  hunger, 
they  have  gone  so  far  as  to  commit  depredations  upon 
the  property  of  the  inhabitants,  which  at  any  other  time 
would  be  suppressed  with  exemplary  punishment.  But 
to-day,  it  can  only  be  deplored  as  the  result  of  a  cruel 
necessity."  Thus,  the  soldiers  of  Washington  pillaged  in 
order  to  live.  In  May  two  regiments  of  the  line  revolted 
with  their  arms  in  their  hands,  and  "without  the  efforts 
of  some  officers,"  wrote  the  general  to  Congress,  "the 
rest  of  the  army  would  have  followed  their  example,  each 
one  quitting  the  ranks  and  returning  home,  seeking  to 
procure  food  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet/' 

There  was  hardly  anything  that  Congress  could  do 
for  the  army:  "As  far  as  it  is  concerned,"  quoting  again 
from  Joseph  Jones,  "it  is  only  the  channel  through  which 
the  needs  of  the  army  are  transmitted  to  the  States. 
Besides,  the  army  has  to  have  prompt  decisions:  no 
action  is  possible,  if  all  depends  upon  the  slow  delibera 
tions  of  a  body  as  large  as  Congress."  Washington  ob 
tained  the  privilege  of  creating  a  small  committee  of 
war,  residing  permanently  at  General  Headquarters  and 
provided  "with  unlimited  authority  to  levy  men,  rein 
forcements  of  all  kinds,  and  to  sanction  military  opera 
tions." 


106    SOLDIERS  AND   SAILORS  OF   FRANCE 

ington  believed  that  he  would  try  to  force  the  passage 
of  the  Hudson;  he  then  withdrew  his  army  from  the 
river  so  that  he  could  rapidly  face  an  attack,  either  in 
the  mountainous  region  near  the  North  River,  or  upon 
the  New  Jersey  plains. 

Such  was  the  situation  on  July  yth  when  Rocham- 
beau's  fleet  carrying  the  French  expeditionary  corps 
appeared  off  Rhode  Island.  Henceforth  Washington 
had  but  one  thought:  to  take  New  York.  But  we 
are  going  to  see  the  fate  of  the  war  decided  in  the 
South. 

The  indomitable  will  of  Washington  and  his  clear 
mind,  aided  by  a  number  of  men  full  of  energetic  spirit, 
continued  to  hold  up  the  faltering  destiny  of  America. 
By  an  effort,  constantly  threatened,  he  averted  the 
consequences  of  a  ruinous  anarchy.  The  young  re 
public  suffered  a  serious  crisis  of  authority.  According 
to  the  words  of  Joseph  Jones,  member  of  the  Federal 
Assembly,  the  Congress  "had  by  degrees  given  back  or 
given  up,  to  the  different  States,  the  exercise  of  their 
rights,  and  the  powers  that  they  had  claimed  and  used 
to  the  fullest  extent,  so  that  there  barely  remained  one 
duty  to  Congress — the  direction  of  foreign  affairs.  The 
resources  in  wheat  and  cattle  were  not  wanting;  but 
Washington  noted  in  the  people  an  extreme  avarice 
and  indolence,"  a  dogged  hostility  against  all  measures 
which  would  interfere  with  their  present  interest,  so 
that  a  more  general  and  far-reaching  good  would  ensue. 
He  had  seen  enough  of  it  during  this  terrible  winter  of 
1780,  when  his  soldiers  were  dying  with  hunger.  In 
order  to  feed  this  army  upon  which  depended  the  salva 
tion  of  the  country,  Washington  had  to  establish  requisi 
tion.  But,  aside  from  the  fact  that  the  state  of  the  roads 
rendered  transportation  often  impracticable,  the  owners 


SOLDIERS  AND   SAILORS   OF   FRANCE     107 

showed  very  little  haste  to  furnish  their  cattle  and  wheat. 
In  vain  the  estimation  would  be  made  in  concert  with 
the  magistrate  of  the  colony  and  the  commissary  officer, 
all  the  precautions  taken  so  as  not  to  hurt  the  feelings 
of  these  friends  of  independence,  or  their  extreme  sus 
ceptible  sense  of  ownership  .  .  .  but  nothing  could  de 
stroy  this  distrust.  We  can  imagine  what  the  army  must 
have  suffered  for  Washington  to  have  written  the  follow 
ing  words  to  the  civil  authorities  of  New  Jersey,  in  Janu 
ary,  1780:  "The  soldiers  cannot  bear  much  longer  the  ex 
tremities  to  which  they  are  reduced.  Pressed  by  hunger, 
they  have  gone  so  far  as  to  commit  depredations  upon 
the  property  of  the  inhabitants,  which  at  any  other  time 
would  be  suppressed  with  exemplary  punishment.  But 
to-day,  it  can  only  be  deplored  as  the  result  of  a  cruel 
necessity."  Thus,  the  soldiers  of  Washington  pillaged  in 
order  to  live.  In  May  two  regiments  of  the  line  revolted 
with  their  arms  in  their  hands,  and  "without  the  efforts 
of  some  officers,"  wrote  the  general  to  Congress,  "the 
rest  of  the  army  would  have  followed  their  example,  each 
one  quitting  the  ranks  and  returning  home,  seeking  to 
procure  food  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet." 

There  was  hardly  anything  that  Congress  could  do 
for  the  army:  "As  far  as  it  is  concerned,"  quoting  again 
from  Joseph  Jones,  "it  is  only  the  channel  through  which 
the  needs  of  the  army  are  transmitted  to  the  States. 
Besides,  the  army  has  to  have  prompt  decisions:  no 
action  is  possible,  if  all  depends  upon  the  slow  delibera 
tions  of  a  body  as  large  as  Congress."  Washington  ob 
tained  the  privilege  of  creating  a  small  committee  of 
war,  residing  permanently  at  General  Headquarters  and 
provided  "with  unlimited  authority  to  levy  men,  rein 
forcements  of  all  kinds,  and  to  sanction  military  opera 
tions." 


io8    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

Washington  knew  that  a  crisis  demanded  deter 
mination — decision.  La  Fayette  gave  him  the  assur 
ance  that  his  most  Christian  Majesty  was  sending  a 
fleet  with  troops,  and  so  he  constantly  recalled  to  Con 
gress,  to  the  Colonial  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania,  to 
James  Duane,  Philip  Schuyler,  John  Matthews,  Na 
thaniel  Peabody,  Joseph  Jones,  Reed,  this  important 
truth  with  which  it  was  necessary  to  flagellate  the  weak 
ening  courage  of  the  people:  "That  if  the  Americans, 
by  extraordinary  efforts  do  not  second  the  good  will  of 
the  King  of  France,  the  expected  aid  will  only  precipi 
tate  the  ruin  of  America:  If  we  fail,  the  resources  of  the 
States  will  be  so  exhausted  in  the  enterprise,  that  a  con 
dition  of  complete  debility  and  inertia  will  result ;  so  we 
must  at  any  price  awaken  the  public  to  the  danger:  That 
the  actual  crisis  is  so  grave  that,  if  it  does  not  inspire 
sacrifices  in  proportion  to  the  circumstances,  it  will  be 
a  proof  that  our  ideas  of  honor,  public  welfare,  even  of 
salvation  have  lost  their  influence  upon  our  minds.  .  .  . 
The  Court  of  France  is  making  a  glorious  effort  for  our 
freedom ;  if,  through  our  inactivity  we  deceive  her  hopes 
we  shall  be  worthy  of  contempt  in  the  eyes  of  the  whole 
human  race,  and  we  cannot  hope  that  our  allies  will  per 
sist  in  their  project,  when  they  find  us  devoid  of  capacity, 
and  even  of  the  desire  to  aid  them/'  Washington 
thought,  moreover,  that  France  imposed  upon  herself 
"a  great  and  super-human  effort"  to  save  America: 
neither  in  money  nor  in  the  navy  could  her  resources 
compare  with  those  of  inexhaustible  England.  As  to 
Spain,  he  only  recognized  in  her  a  failure  to  act;  he 
knew,  at  last,  that  the  two  courts  would  never  arrive 
at  a  complete  understanding  about  the  war.  It  was 
necessary  then  to  seize  the  precarious  and  supreme 
chance  that  destiny  offered  to  America :  if  all  her  power 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE     109 

did  not  rise  up  and  blend  with  the  French  energy,  her 
liberty  was  lost. 

How  Washington  forced  the  public  into  a  resolution 
to  act,  there  is  no  keener  testimony  than  his  letter  of 
July  4th,  1780,  to  Reed,  President  of  the  Assembly  of 
Pennsylvania.  He  demands  responsible  heads  of  affairs 
who  will  exercise  rigorously  the  plenitude  of  their 
powers:  "When  the  aim  is  high,"  he  said,  "the  atten 
tion  of  the  people  is  awakened;  they  will  be  more  dis 
posed  to  sacrifice  their  property  and  welfare.  If  those 
to  whom  is  confided  the  direction  of  their  affairs  do  not 
urge  them  to  make  these  sacrifices,  the  object  is  not  at 
tained.  Then  the  people  will  be  reproached  for  not  hav 
ing  done  their  duty;  they  will  be  sensitive  to  this  re 
proach,  and  their  resentment  will  turn  against  those 
who,  invested  with  sufficient  authority,  have  not  done 
what  their  interest  and  honor  required." 

Washington  dared  to  call  the  faults  that  were  being 
committed  by  the  name  of  dishonor.  There  was  one 
of  them  for  which  the  States  had  a  surprising  indul 
gence;  at  least,  the  repression  of  it  was  very  lax.  The 
commerce  with  the  enemy  was  called  felony;  but  those 
who  were  occupied  in  this  business  were  not  declared 
traitors  to  their  country.  The  traffic  with  New  York 
was  immense.  "We  see  persons,"  wrote  the  general  to 
John  Sullivan,  February  4th,  1781,  "who,  three  years 
ago,  would  have  trembled  at  the  very  idea  of  such  in 
tercourse,  seek  it  now  with  avidity  .  .  .  knowing  that 
all  they  have  to  fear  is  confiscation,  to  the  profit  of  the 
informer,  and  he  easily  evades  this  danger  by  both  par 
ties  coming  to  an  understanding  with  each  other,  no  one 
is  accused  and  they  act  without  any  risk."  For  such 
persons  Washington  demanded  the  death  penalty.  In 
this  manner  the  United  States  was  not  only  undergoing 


I io    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

a  crisis  of  authority  but  a  crisis  of  national  conscience 
as  well.  A  few  men  felt  this  weakness  deeply;  they 
became  ashamed  of  it;  they  resolved  to  fight,  and  the 
country  was  saved.  Washington  perceived  the  bond 
between  the  straightening  out  and  raising  up  of  the 
public  conscience  on  the  one  side  and  the  establishment 
of  strong  authority  on  the  other.  Who  could  have  been 
able  like  him  to  have  urged  Congress  to  take  possession, 
as  a  right  that  belonged  to  it,  of  all  power,  "in  harmony 
with  the  plan  of  campaign"  that  was  going  to  be  put  into 
operation;  to  have  summoned  them  to  get  out  of  the 
old  rut;  to  tolerate  no  longer  "that  one  State  disobey 
its  orders  while  another  obeyed,  or  a  third  put  false 
meaning  on  its  measures,  or  adopted  only  a  part  of  them ; 
or  that  sacrifices  would  be  made  only  on  condition  that 
some  other  State  would  make  them";  and  finally  to  say 
that  jealousy  and  distrust  among  the  States  paralyzed 
the  central  authority?  Undoubtedly  order  was  neces 
sary  for  the  government  of  moral  forces;  and  Wash 
ington  saw  clearly  to  what  extent  they  depended  upon 
political  regulations.  They  should  prescribe  instead  of 
recommend.  In  the  difficult  days,  when  it  would  seem 
that  the  American  people  were  going  to  fail  in  their  duty 
to  their  leaders,  or  that  the  leaders  would  fail  the  peo 
ple,  Washington  would  recall  to  some  the  belief  in  their 
destiny,  to  others  that  of  their  mission. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE   EXPEDITIONARY    CORPS    OF    ROCHAMBEAU — THE 

DEFENSIVE — CO-OPERATION   OF   THE   FRENCH 

WITH   THE  AMERICANS 

Lieutenant-General  Count  de  Rochambeau,  like  Ron- 
sard,  came  from  a  very  ancient  family  of  Vendome, 
and  in  the  year  1780  was  fifty  years  old.  Since  he  first 
took  up  arms,  forty  years  had  passed:  it  was  in  Ger 
many  under  Marechal  de  Saxe.  At  Lawfeld  he  received 
his  first  two  wounds,  from  which  he  nearly  lost  his  life. 
He  was  in  all  the  wars  and  always  in  the  most  exposed 
positions;  in  the  advance-guard  if  they  were  attacked, 
in  the  rear-guard  if  they  were  beating  a  retreat.  Dur 
ing  the  Seven  Years'  War  he  commanded  the  noted 
regiment  of  Auvergne,  which  paid  for  its  victory  at 
Clostercamp  with  58  officers  and  800  soldiers  killed  and 
wounded.  Upon  that  day,  wounded  himself,  he  re 
mained  upon  the  field  of  battle  until  the  victory  was  torn 
from  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  M.  Jusserand  states  that 
Chevalier  d'Assas  died  heroically  while  executing  an 
order  given  by  Rochambeau;  he  also  notes  that  in  the 
second  battle  of  Minden,  in  1759,  where  La  Fayette's 
father  fell,  Rochambeau  covered  the  retreat  of  the 
French,  and  that  in  the  British  ranks  Lord  Cornwallis 
fought. — Twenty- two  years  later  we  see  these  two  vet 
erans  face  to  face  at  Yorktown. 

It  is  by  his  work  that  Rochambeau  has  to  be  known. 
Without  being  exactly  in  disfavor  at  court,  he  never 
sought  for  any  honors,  and  they  never  came  to  him. 

in 


H2    SOLDIERS  AND   SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

He  was  field-marshal  twenty  years  before  he  was  pro 
moted  to  lieutenant-general  in  1780.  He  had  the  con 
firmed  reputation  of  being  exact  and  prudent;  an  ener 
getic  commander,  beloved  by  his  men  and  careful  of 
their  lives;  but  a  very  strict  disciplinarian.  He  had 
lost  his  father  and  had  left  his  home  in  the  rue  du 
Cherche-Midi  in  Paris  to  go  and  regulate  his  affairs  of 
succession  in  Vendome,  suffering  at  the  time  from 
rheumatism.  Just  at  this  moment  a  courier  arrived 
from  the  King  in  the  middle  of  the  night  and  "brought 
him  an  order  to  go  to  Versailles  and  receive  other  orders 
from  His  Majesty."  He  was  to  put  himself  at  the  head 
of  an  expeditionary  corps  that  the  King,  by  a  decision 
which  was  kept  secret,  was  sending  to  his  allies.  He 
forgot  his  own  interests  and  his  rheumatism:  "I  swear 
to  serve  His  Majesty  in  this  commission  with  all  the 
zeal  I  possess  to  my  dying  hour."  This  was  about  the 
first  of  March,  1780. 

Everything  was  promptly  regulated.  And  yet,  how 
many  questions  to  be  decided !  One  of  the  principal 
things  to  be  considered  was  the  number  of  soldiers. 
Through  discretion,  for  fear  of  awakening  the  dark 
suspicions  of  Congress,  the  Ministry  dared  not  give  more 
than  4,000  men.  The  relative  modesty  of  this  aid  was 
a  guarantee  that  France  did  not  pretend  to  abrogate  to 
herself  the  privilege  of  conquest,  that  she  had  no  idea 
of  making  conquests  at  all ;  that  her  aid  was  not  that  of 
usurpation.  But  Rochambeau  protested  that  "for  the 
glory  of  the  arms  of  the  King,"  even  with  the  greatest 
vigilance,  4,000  men  was  too  small  a  number  and  soon 
depleted ;  it  was  easy  to  lose  a  third  of  them  in  one  action 
of  the  infantry.  At  Lawfeld,  Creveld,  and  Clostercamp 
he  had  lost  two-thirds  of  his  men.  He,  therefore,  asked 
for  6,000,  sure  "that  this  increase  in  the  number  would 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF   FRANCE     113 

still  be  too  small  to  make  the  Americans  uneasy." 
This  many  were  given  him,  and  even  a  few  more. 

Then  came  the  question  of  provisions.  We  can 
hardly  realize  to-day  what  difficulties  they  had  to  over 
come.  Rochambeau  had  the  time  to  get  information 
from  La  Fayette  about  the  domestic  situation  of  our 
allies.  "  Much  flour  and  sea-biscuit  had  to  be  taken  with 
them,"  he  noted.  "Put  in  brick  for  ovens,  as  ballast. 
Try  to  take  everything  with  you  and  not  to  depend 
upon  the  Americans  who  are  in  great  need.  .  .  .  Flint 
stones,  harness,  leather,  shoes;  all  kinds  of  goods  for 
clothes,  hats,  thread,  needles,  bed-clothing,  tents,  water 
flasks,  canteens,  tools  of  all  kinds;  .  .  .  and  besides, 
have  the  soldier's  knapsack  well  filled,  have  big  sup 
plies  for  each  regiment." 

"Not  only  is  it  necessary,"  said  the  Minister  of  War, 
then  the  Prince  de  Montbarrey,  "to  provide  abundantly 
for  all  the  needs  of  the  body  for  the  troops,  but  it  is  in 
the  wisdom  and  magnanimity  of  the  King,  who  wishes 
to  give  material  aid  to  his  Allies,  to  take  into  considera 
tion  the  means  to  remedy  the  evils  that  circumstances 
have  forced  upon  them,  and  to  have  them  feel  the  effects 
of  his  beneficence,  at  the  same  time  that  he  aids  them 
with  his  army  to  sustain  the  justice  of  their  cause." 
Consequently  a  part  of  the  funds  destined  for  the  ex 
pedition  were  converted  into  merchandise;  they  took 
with  them  the  food  that  the  Americans  lacked  the  most, 
so  as  to  exchange  it,  when  necessary,  for  things  that 
would  be  needed  by  their  own  troops.  And  they  also 
carried  money  with  them.  "We  will  pay  our  Allies 
for  everything,  even  the  straw  for  the  soldier.  .  .  . 
The  King,  in  spending  his  money,  will  find  the  oppor 
tunity  of  doing  a  great  good  to  the  country  of  his  Allies; 
for  in  using  his  silver  he  will  give  more  active  circula- 


114    SOLDIERS  AND   SAILORS  OF   FRANCE 

tion  to  their  paper  money."  "The  more  ready  money 
we  shall  have,"  said  Rochambeau  again  to  the  Minister, 
''the  better  will  we  be  able  to  do  the  King's  business 
ceremoniously."  Necker  was  finally  persuaded;  Ro 
chambeau  received  a  first  installment  in  piastres  of 
2,625,000  francs;  he  was  to  receive  1,575,000  francs 
more.  The  annual  expense  foreseen,  for  maintaining  six 
regiments  of  infantry  in  the  United  States,  was  more 
than  6,000,000  francs. 

Indeed  it  was  no  small  enterprise  in  those  days  to 
gather  enough  ships  together  to  transport  to  the  other 
side  of  the  ocean  the  weight,  relatively  enormous,  of  the 
siege  and  field  equipment.  They  did  not  take  any 
horses;  De  Corny  had  been  ordered  to  buy  them,  over 
there,  in  the  United  States;  750  for  the  artillery,  food 
and  supply,  and  hospital  service;  350  for  the  hussars 
of  the  legion  of  Lauzun,  and  140  for  the  staff  officers. 
De  Tarle,  ordnance  officer,  doing  the  duties  of  quarter 
master,  had  already  much  work  to  do  to  see  that  "all 
the  goods  and  food  supply  of  the  King"  were  "well 
packed  and  distributed."  From  Saint  Malo,  Nantes, 
Port  Louis  near  Lorient,  and  from  Havre,  artillery  muni 
tions  were  transported  to  Brest;  the  field-hospitals, 
folding  cots,  cotton  and  straw  mattresses,  surgical  in 
struments,  coming  from  Saint  Malo,  where  preparations 
had  been  made  in  1779,  when  there  was  thought  of  land 
ing  in  England.  The  regiments  were  billeted  as  fol 
lows:  Bourbonnais  at  Lamballe,  Neustrie  and  Anhalt 
at  Quimper,  Soissonnais  at  Hennebont,  Saintonge  at 
Crozon  and  Camaret,  Royal- Deux- Fonts  at  Lander- 
neau  and  Saint  Pol-de-Leon.  And  lastly,  Rocham 
beau  himself  was  at  Brest  from  the  26th  of  March. 
They  were  in  need  of  ships;  finally  100  sails  arrived 
from  Bordeaux :  these  were  coast  trading  vessels.  Now 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE     115 

it  was  necessary  to  depart,  so  Rochambeau  gathered 
together  all  the  shipping  that  was  in  the  port  of 
Brest,  32  ships,  a  total  of  12,800  tons,  embarked  5,000 
men,  and  left  in  their  cantonment  the  regiments  of  An- 
halt  and  Neustrie,  which  made  Count  de  Wittgenstein, 
their  commander,  weep  "tears  of  blood ";  he  also  left 
behind  a  third  of  the  artillery  and  a  third  of  the  legion 
of  Lauzun.  This  second  division  was  to  rejoin  him  as 
soon  as  they  could  get  the  necessary  ships;  but  they 
were  never  able  to  procure  them. 

It  was  forbidden  to  take  officers  "who  were  volunteers, 
or  who  had  never  seen  action."  As  to  the  soldiers, 
"their  eagerness  to  go  made  them  dissemble  every 
thing  that  could  be  an  obstacle  to  their  departure." 
Rochambeau  was  determined  that  they  were  not  to  take 
any  but  the  most  robust.  Everybody  wanted  to  go. 
The  Brigadier  de  Choisy,  his  aide-de-camp  De  Queissat, 
Brentano,  Angelis  went  on  board  the  admiral's  vessel 
and  pleaded  with  Rochambeau  to  take  them  with  him; 
the  order  was  positive;  they  must  remain  with  Witt 
genstein.  Although  the  ranks  were  all  filled,  others 
received  from  the  Minister  of  War  the  permission  to  take 
passage :  such  was  the  case  of  the  two  Berthiers,  of  which 
one  was  the  future  Prince  de  Wagram.  On  May  3d, 
as  the  fleet  was  going  out  to  sea,  they  joined  the  cutter 
of  the  rear-guard,  "in  short  jackets  and  linen  breeches," 
said  Rochambeau,  "offering  to  go  as  common  sailors." 
But  there  was  no  place  for  them  on  any  of  the  boats; 
the  Chevalier  de  Ternay,  who  commanded  the  squad 
ron,  "having  no  place  to  cram  them,"  sent  "these poor 
young  men  back  in  despair."  A  little  later,  these 
youthful  enthusiasts  and  the  Marquis  de  Choisy,  the 
Viscount  de  Melfort,  and  some  others,  left  France  upon 
the  Cybele  for  Martinique,  where  the  frigate  Gentille 


ii6    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

took  them  on  board  and  landed  them,  on  the  3Oth  of 
September,  at  Newport. 

At  the  head  of  the  troops  which  bore  the  names  of 
our  provinces,  the  most  brilliant  part  of  the  French 
nobility  departed  on  this  glorious  adventure.  The 
destination  of  the  fleet  remained  a  secret.  Rocham- 
beau  had  three  field-marshals  with  him:  the  Baron  and 
the  Viscount  de  Viomesnil  and  the  Chevalier  de  Chas- 
tellux;  the  quartermaster-general  was  Brigadier  de 
Beville.  His  aides-de-camp  were,  respectively,  De  Fer- 
sen,  De  Damas,  De  Lameth,  De  Closen,  Mathieu  Dumas, 
De  Lauberdiere,  Vauban,  De  Montesquieu.  The  Mar 
quis  de  Laval-Montmorency  commanded  the  Bourbon- 
nais  regiment,  with  the  son  of  the  general,  the  Viscount 
de  Rochambeau,  as  second;  the  Soissonnais  regiment 
had  the  Count  de  Saint  Maime  for  colonel  and  the  Vis 
count  de  Noailles  for  colonel  in  second;  Saintonge  had  the 
Count  de  Custine  and  the  Count  de  Charlus,  son  of 
the  Marquis  de  Castries,  who  will  soon  be  called  to  the 
Ministry  of  War;  Royal-Deux- Fonts  had  the  Counts 
Christian  and  Guillaume;  the  Lauzun  Legion  was  led 
by  the  Duke  de  Lauzun;  Colonel  d'Aboville  was  in 
high  command  of  the  artillery,  Colonel  Desandrouin 
of  the  engineers.  Among  the  captains  of  the  ten  ves 
sels  of  convoy  were  La  P6rouse  and  La  Clocheterie. 

The  embarkation  was  completed  by  April  nth,  but 
the  winds  did  not  permit  them  to  sail  until  May  2d. 
And  what  a  delay,  causing  accidents !  One  day  it  was 
the  Comtesse  de  Noailles  who  broke  her  bowsprit  in 
running  against  the  Conquerant;  and  the  young  Baron 
de  Closen  observed  with  much  distress  that  at  the  same 
time,  the  "charming  countess,"  who  ornamented  in 
effigy  the  prow  of  the  boat,  had  been  broken  in  pieces; 
it  was  repaired,  but  "the  countess"  remained  without 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE     117 

a  head,  "like  many  other  countesses."  Another  time 
they  looked  for  De  Dillon,  so  courageous  the  past  year 
at  Savannah  and  in  the  West  Indies,  now  colonel  in 
second  of  the  Lauzun  regiment:  he  had  disappeared. 
Impatient  and  restless,  he  had  gone  to  seek  distraction  at 
Nantes,  and  had  a  quarrel :  he  finally  returned  with  two 
sword  wounds,  and  Rochambeau  had  to  put  him  "under 
arrest  on  his  own  ship  so  as  to  care  for  his  wounds  and 
punish  his  misconduct."  Chevalier  de  Ternay  was  a 
wise  old  sailor,  much  more  concerned  about  leading  his 
convoy  safely  into  port  than  to  acquire  glory  on  the  high 
seas.  It  was  sufficient  for  him  to  get  there  in  advance 
of  Graves's  fleet.  He  avoided  opportunities  for  fight 
ing.  The  young  officers  blamed  him  but  Rochambeau 
rendered  him  full  justice.  After  missing  some  fine  ad 
ventures,  and  seventy  days  at  sea,  plus  the  twenty- 
seven  passed  in  the  harbor  at  Brest,  the  French  squadron 
arrived  safely  at  last,  on  July  7th,  1780,  off  the  coast  of 
Rhode  Island. 

Their  first  welcome  in  Newport  seemed  to  the  French 
men  a  little  cold.  Count  Guillaume  de  Deux-Ponts, 
issue  of  a  morganatic  marriage  between  a  German 
baron  and  a  Frenchwoman,  who  had  not  disdained  at 
one  time  to  be  a  danseuse,  was  easily  put  out  of  humor. 
He  noted:  "Upon  disembarking  we  have  not  received 
the  welcome  that  is  due  to  us.  Coldness  and  reserve 
seem,  up  to  this  moment,  the  distinctive  characteristic 
of  the  American  nation;  they  are  very  little  given  to 
that  enthusiasm  which  one  would  suppose  that  a  people 
would  have  who  were  fighting  for  their  liberty,  and  they 
do  not  inspire  it  in  others."  Rochambeau  says  about  the 
same  thing:  "The  streets  are  deserted,  and  there  are 
sad,  dismayed  glances  from  the  windows."  The  good 


ii8    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

Abbe  Robin,  whose  subsequent  testimony  is  already  a 
little  legend,  says :  "The  arrival  of  the  Count  de  Rocham- 
beau  spread  terror  everywhere;  the  country  was  de 
serted,  and  those  whom  curiosity  led  to  Newport  did 
not  meet  any  one  in  the  streets.'*  We  have  learned 
since,  and  the  abbe  recalls  it  also  to  our  mind,  that  the 
French  were  generally  ' '  regarded  as  slaves  to  despotism ; 
full  of  prejudices  and  superstition;  nearly  idolaters  in 
their  religion,  and  like  kinds  of  lightweight  machines, 
not  well  formed,  incapable  of  firmness,  or  of  consistency, 
occupied  only  with  the  care  of  curling  their  hair,  and 
painting  their  faces;  without  faith  and  not  respecting 
the  most  sacred  duties."  There  are  some  Quakers  who 
would  not  find  this  exaggerated. 

But  opinion  was  very  quickly  changed.  Rochambeau 
"spoke  to  the  important  men  of  the  city"  and  in 
"twenty- four  hours,"  he  reports  to  the  Ministry, 
"their  spirits  began  to  reach  a  high  pitch;  in  the  evening 
of  July  I2th,  the  streets  and  all  the  houses  and  the 
belfries  were  illuminated;  and  there  were  fireworks." 
The  president  of  Yale  University,  Ezra  Stiles,  tells  us: 
"The  Whigs  put  thirteen  lanterns  in  their  windows,  the 
Tories,  or  those  who  were  undecided,  four  or  six.  As  to 
the  Quakers,  they  preferred  not  to  show  the  light  of 
their  candles,  and  had  their  windows  smashed." 

To  brighten  their  spirits,  Rochambeau  circulated  the 
report  that  his  5,000  men  were  but  "the  advance  guard 
of  a  much  larger  force,  and  that  the  King  had  decided 
to  sustain  the  Americans  with  all  the  power  he  pos 
sessed."  But  that  which  really  cheered  their  hearts  more 
than  anything  else  was  their  contact  with  the  French 
character;  they  did  everything  they  could  to  dissipate 
the  American  prejudices.  The  abbe  did  not  stint  his 
praises  of  these  fine  young  noblemen,  who  adapted  them- 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE     119 

selves  with  such  perfect  ease  to  other  habits  and  cus 
toms,  winning  their  way  by  their  kindliness,  setting  ex 
amples  of  simplicity  of  manners  and  frugality,  and  above 
all,  "knowing  how  to  make  themselves  agreeable  and 
popular,  as  if  they  were  living  among  equals."  They 
wondered  at  it  more  than  was  necessary,  for  doleful 
faces  had  long  since  passed  out  of  fashion  in  Paris; 
that  is,  if  they  ever  had  been  in  vogue.  The  Tories 
were  completely  won  over;  and  we  find  that  Lauzun  did 
not  have  need  to  complain  of  the  people  of  Newport; 
he  acknowledges  his  indebtedness  to  them  very  grace 
fully  in  his  Memoires:  "  Madame  Hunter,  a  widow  of 
thirty-six,  had  two  charming  daughters  whom  she  had 
educated  with  great  care;  she  lived  a  very  retired  life, 
hardly  seeing  any  one.  By  chance,  I  made  her  acquain 
tance  when  I  arrived  at  Rhode  Island.  She  was  ex 
ceedingly  friendly  toward  me,  and  I  was  soon  regarded 
as  a  member  of  the  family,  where  I  passed  most  of  my 
time.  I  fell  sick  and  she  had  me  taken  to  her  home, 
where  I  received  the  tenderest  care.  I  was  never  in 
love  with  these  young  ladies  (the  Misses  Hunter) ;  but 
if  they  had  been  my  sisters  I  could  not  have  had  more 
affection  for  them;  above  all,  the  eldest,  who  had  one  of 
the  most  amiable  dispositions  I  ever  observed."  What 
would  the  Quakers  of  the  neighborhood  have  said  if 
they  had  known  that  this  Don  Juan,  this  corrupted  fruit 
of  the  abominable  Babylon,  was  admitted  to  the  honest, 
tranquil  fireside  of  this  young  widow,  and  found  happi 
ness  there ! 

French  discipline  was  another  object  of  surprise  and 
admiration.  Count  Jean  Axel  de  Fersen,  the  charming 
Swede,  who,  with  an  ardent,  chivalrous  heart,  was 
devoted  to  the  Queen,  Marie  Antoinette,  noted  on  Sep 
tember  8th  that  although  they  were  not  particularly 


120    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

inclined  to  speak  in  favor  of  our  soldiers,  there  had  not 
been  a  complaint  raised  against  them :  "Nothing  is  taken 
from  the  inhabitants  without  paying  them  for  it.  They 
are  astonished  at  this  discipline  ...  for  they  are  ac 
customed  to  the  pillage  of  the  English  and  their  own 
troops.  The  greatest  confidence  and  the  best  under 
standing  exists  between  the  two  nations."  La  Fayette's 
account  has  more  zest  to  it  and  goes  more  into  detail: 
"You  would  have  been  amused  the  other  day,"  he 
writes  on  the  3ist  to  Washington,  "at  seeing  250  recruits 
who  came  to  Connecticut  without  provisions  and  tents, 
and  who  fraternized  so  well  with  our  French  troops,  that 
each  Frenchman — officer  or  soldier — took  an  American, 
and  in  a  friendly  way  shared  his  bed  and  supper  with  him. 
The  patience  and  the  soberness  of  the  American  militia 
is  so  admired,  that  two  days  ago  a  French  colonel  called 
his  officers  together  to  induce  them  to  follow  the  good 
example  given  by  the  American  troops.  And  on  the 
other  hand,  French  discipline  is  so  good,  that  chickens 
and  pigs  go  around  among  the  tents  without  being 
disturbed,  and  in  the  camp  there  is  a  field  of  corn,  and 
not  a  stalk  has  been  touched.  The  Tories  do  not  know 
what  to  make  of  it." 

This  incident  reminds  me  of  another.  I  wonder  if 
Rochambeau  knew  what  Montaigne  related  about  the 
"apple-tree  within  the  enclosure  of  the  camp  of  the 
Roman  Army.  It  was  found,  the  next  day  when  they 
had  gone,  to  be  unmolested,  leaving  to  the  owner  the 
entire  count  of  his  ripe  and  delicious  fruit."  The 
French  army  did  as  well ;  it  is  Rochambeau  who  verifies 
the  story:  "The  different  deputations  of  Indians  who 
came  to  the  camp  showed  no  surprise  at  the  view  of  the 
cannon,  the  troops  and  the  manoeuvres,  but  they  could 
not  get  over  their  astonishment,  at  seeing  the  apple 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE     121 

trees  hanging   full   of  fruit  above   the   tents  that  the 
soldiers  occupied  for  three  months." 

Washington  was  not  then  too  optimistic  when  he 
addressed,  in  this  way,  the  American  troops  in  his  order 
of  the  day  for  July  2Oth:  "The  General  does  not  hesi 
tate  to  assure  the  army  that  the  French  soldiers  come  to 
our  aid,  animated  with  a  zeal  founded  upon  their  sym 
pathy  for  us,  as  much  as  it  is  upon  their  submission  to  the 
will  of  the  King,  and  they  will  do  all  on  their  side  to  live 
in  good  faith  and  keep  our  friendship."  Diplomatic 
words,  no  doubt,  but  there  is  justice  in  them.  I  would 
be  willing  to  wager  that  Soissonnais,  Agenais,  Bour- 
bonnais,  and  all  the  other  regiments  made  it  a  point  of 
honor  to  conduct  themselves  as  true  soldiers  of  liberty 
and  sons  of  a  noble  race;  for  the  discipline  that  was 
imposed  upon  them  would  not  have  been  sufficient.  The 
old  virtues  of  France  appeared  to  have  more  charm 
when  they  smilingly  came  to  offer  themselves  to  the 
service  of  a  great  ideal  in  danger. 

However,  their  good  comradeship  did  not  cover  the 
needs  of  the  Americans.  From  July  6th  Rochambeau 
began  to  implore  the  Ministry:  "Send  us  troops,  ships, 
money;  but  do  not  count  upon  these  people  nor  upon 
their  means;  they  are  without  a  crown  or  credit.  Their 
forces  exist  only  for  brief  moments;  that  is,  when  they 
are  attacked  in  their  homes;  they  assemble,  then,  at 
the  time  of  personal  danger,  and  defend  themselves. 
Washington  commands  sometimes  15,000,  and  again 
3,000  men.  We  have  brought  only  2,600,000  limes, 
half  in  cash  and  the  rest  in  letters  of  credit.  We  should 
have  brought  double  this  amount."  An  unyielding 
economy,  where  we  should  have  had  "magnificence  and 
profusion,"  has  ruined  our  credit.  "Our  letters  of  credit 


122    SOLDIERS  AND   SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

are  losing  their  value  terribly,  and  we  have  to  carry  on 
our  business  with  the  greatest  order;  and  for  lack  of 
money  like  profligate  sons.  And  then  the  scurvy  has 
ravaged  our  army."  "I  will  have  to  admit,"  wrote 
Rochambeau  to  the  Minister  of  War  on  July  25th, 
"that  if  the  enemy  had  been  quicker,  he  could  have  em 
barrassed  us  not  a  little:  1,500  of  my  men  sick  on  the 
ships,  800  in  the  army." 

Happily  the  enemy  was  slow.  Graves  had  rejoined 
Arbuthnot  on  July  I3th;  against  the  six  ships  of  the 
line  of  De  Ternay  the  English  had  ten.  But  when  they 
appeared  at  Newport  on  the  2 1st,  Rochambeau,  in  twelve 
days'  work,  had  rendered  his  position  respectable.  The 
big  cannon  had  not  been  taken  to  the  land ;  in  twenty- 
four  hours  this  was  done.  The  blow  was  avoided.  The 
French  camp  divided  the  island  crosswise,  its  left  on  the 
sea,  its  right  facing  the  squadron  at  anchor;  Rocham 
beau  could  always  get  the  line  of  attack  the  shortest  way 
at  the  point  where  the  enemy  wished  to  land,  " while 
in  order  to  vary  his  points  of  attack  the  enemy  had  to 
make  a  great  circle."  "Day  before  yesterday,"  wrote 
Rochambeau  on  the  25th,  "the  whole  day  they  were 
sniffing  at  us  within  reach  of  the  cannon  .  .  .  just  at 
the  moment  that  we  were  eager  for  them  to  attack  us; 
but  they  were  careful  not  to  do  it,  and  they  did  well; 
for  it  would  not  have  been  very  good  for  them." 

Washington  did  not  feel  so  reassured.  He  knew,  and 
warned  Rochambeau,  that  Clinton  had  embarked  8,000 
men  to  go  and  make  an  assault  upon  Newport,  so  he  sent 
5,000  militia  to  aid  the  French.  Rochambeau  began  to 
send  them  back,  "for  fear  of  ruining  their  crops,"  per 
haps,  also,  because  they  arrived,  as  he  told  Luzerne, 
"with  much  courage,  but  without  tents  and  munitions, 
badly  armed  and  no  food."  But  finally  from  advice 


SOLDIERS  AND   SAILORS  OF  FRANCE     123 

again  received  from  the  general-in-chief,  and  the  gover 
nor  of  Connecticut,  he  resolved  to  keep  2,000  of  them, 
until  he  could  make  sure  of  his  safe  communication  with 
the  mainland  by  a  fort  he  was  having  constructed  on  the 
end  of  the  island.  In  spite  of  Rochambeau's  great  desire, 
Clinton  did  not  come :  the  sudden  menace  of  Washington 
on  the  east  bank  of  the  Hudson  made  him  decide  to  re 
turn  as  soon  as  possible  to  New  York.  This  divergence 
did  not  please  Rochambeau  at  all.  "  Misunderstandings 
began  to  take  place*'  between  the  two  commanders. 
The  American  general  wanted  to  take  New  York  first; 
the  French  general  thought  the  enterprise  impossible. 
La  Luzerne  began  to  take  part  in  this  argument,  and 
Rochambeau  demonstrated  to  him  that,  in  order  to 
force  15,000  Englishmen  out  of  their  intrenchments,  it 
was  necessary  to  have  ships  and  equipment  superior  to 
theirs,  and  they  were  far  from  having  that  superiority. 
"We  do  not  want  to  have  a  repetition  of  the  Savannah 
affair  here!"  Then,  on  August  Qth,  La  Fayette  writes 
a  long  and  urgent  letter  to  Rochambeau,  concluding  with 
these  words:  "In  the  name  of  Washington  come  and 
join  us  immediately  so  as  to  make  an  attack  on  New 
York."  "This  was  a  kind  of  summons,"  said  the  general 
later,  "and  its  principle  was  perfectly  correct  because  it 
was  based  upon  the  politics  of  the  country,  and  this 
campaign  seemed  to  be  the  last  effort  of  Washington's 
patriotism." 

But  Rochambeau  felt  hurt,  for  Washington's  silence 
appeared  to  indicate  that  he  was  "using"  the  ardor  and 
petulance  of  La  Fayette  in  order  "to  express  with  more 
energy"  his  own  sentiments.  The  marquis  was  mis 
taken  if  he  thought  he  could  move  this  veteran  of  many 
wars  by  the  vehemence  of  his  words:  he  was  not  one 
of  those  persons  that  could  be  led  by  force,  and  his 


124    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

will — in  which  Fersen  discovered  a  spark  of  defiance — 
was  colder  and  more  determined  when  they  tried  to 
seduce  or  excite  him.  He  answered:  "  Firstly,  that  if 
Washington  had  allowed  Clinton  to  go  to  Rhode  Island, 
he  [Rochambeau]  would  have  had  him  beaten,  and 
Washington,  in  the  meantime,  could  have  taken  New 
York.  Secondly,  that  the  Americans  were  wrong  to 
complain;  while  the  English  fleet  was  watching  the 
French  fleet,  the  coasts  were  unmolested,  the  corsairs 
of  the  Union  were  taking  some  fine  prizes,  and  the  mari 
time  commerce  had  full  liberty.  Under  such  easy  con 
ditions  they  could  afford  to  wait." 

La  Fayette  acknowledged  that  he  was  wrong.  His 
real  feelings  on  the  subject  he  only  expressed  to  his  wife : 
"As  I  saw  that  I  could  not  persuade  him,  and  it  was  to 
the  public  interest  that  we  should  remain  good  friends, 
I  announced  everywhere  that  I  was  in  the  wrong;  that 
I  had  made  a  mistake;  and,  in  proper  terms  I  asked  for 
pardon."  And  then  Washington  wrote  to  Rochambeau 
that  he  agreed  with  him,  except  in  a  few  details;  with 
much  cleverness  and  dignity,  he  suggested  a  plan  that  he 
had  in  view  "of  turning  the  defensive  to  the  offensive." 
He  gave  Rochambeau  satisfaction  upon  this  essential 
point:  that  if  the  French  troops  had  left  Rhode  Island 
immediately,  unless  timidity  diverted  their  purpose,  the 
English  navy  would  have  burned  the  squadron  of  De 
Ternay.  Rochambeau  felt  appeased  and  he  relented; 
his  letter  of  the  27th  of  August  to  La  Fayette  shows  him 
in  a  most  amiable  frame  of  mind:  "Permit  me,  my  dear 
Marquis,  as  an  old  father  to  a  tenderly  loved  son,  to  one 
whom  he  loves  and  esteems  infinitely  well,  to  answer  you. 
You  know  me  well  enough  to  believe  that  I  have  no 
need  of  being  urged.  ...  It  is  good  to  think  that  the 
French  are  invincible,  but  I  am  going  to  confide  a  secret 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE     125 

to  you,  after  an  experience  of  forty  years :  there  are  none 
more  easy  to  conquer  when  they  have  lost  confidence 
in  their  commanders;  and  they  lose  it  immediately 
when  they  have  been  compromised  by  the  consequences 
of  a  personal  or  a  particular  ambition. "  He  could 
render  this  much  justice  to  himself  that,  out  of  15,000 
men  killed  or  wounded  under  his  command  "in  the 
most  bloody  actions,"  he  had  not  "killed  one  to  gratify 
his  own  ambition."  Let  us  praise  the  cavilling  that 
obliged  "old  father  Rochambeau"  to  produce  such  fine 
testimony ! 

This  good,  stern  man  had  a  pure  conscience;  on  the 
I  Qth  of  October,  after  three  months  of  inactivity, 
which  was  not  inertia,  he  could  send  his  balance-sheet 
to  Montbarrey :  "  The  strong,  firm  offensive,  where  we  have 
shown  our  teeth  to  the  enemy  upon  the  first  rock  of  our 
Allies,  upon  which  we  have  landed,  without  his  making  us 
recoil  one  step;  the  good  effect  that  it  has  produced  on 
this  continent,  which  was  in  a  very  precarious  condition 
on  our  arrival ;  the  commerce  of  the  Americans,  and  the 
large  number  of  prizes  that  they  have  taken  during  this 
campaign,  all  the  forces  of  the  enemy  being  united  and 
directed  against  us;  the  re-establishment  of  the  affairs 
of  Gates,  who  has  rallied  and  reorganized  his  army,  for 
neither  a  ship  nor  a  man  from  New  York  has  been  in 
condition  to  second  the  operations  of  Cornwallis,  who 
has  not  had  sufficient  men  to  follow  up  his  victory." 

On  August  1 6th  Lord  Cornwallis  had  defeated  Gates 
at  Camden,  South  Carolina;  the  Continental  troops  did 
their  duty,  but  the  distress  was  great  when  it  was 
learned  that  suddenly  the  militia  had  given  up.  The 
following  morning  near  the  ford  of  the  Catawba,  Colonel 
Tarleton,  who  commanded  a  strong  detachment  of 


126    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

English  cavalry,  surprised  700  Americans,  "killing  150, 
taking  300  prisoners  and  dispersing  the  rest."  But 
at  this  moment  in  the  heart  of  the  Americans  there 
was  one  of  those  sudden  rebounds  which  often  recur 
after  great  losses.  The  English  had  been  extremely 
hard  upon  those  they  had  allowed  to  take  up  arms  again, 
after  having  sworn  to  them  the  oath  of  fidelity  when 
Charleston  fell.  At  King's  Mountain,  on  the  7th  of 
October,  the  American  troops  in  retaliation  turned  upon 
1,200  men,  "  killing  a  large  number  of  them,  with  their 
Commander,  Colonel  Ferguson,  and  taking  the  rest 
prisoners.'*  Lord  Cornwallis  was  reduced  to  the  de 
fensive,  and  Sir  Henry  Clinton  diminished  the  forces 
in  New  York  so  as  to  send  him  assistance.  Gates, 
nevertheless,  was  recalled,  and  was  replaced  by  Greene, 
whom  we  will  now  see  cover  himself  with  glory.  Baron 
de  Kalb  was  killed  at  Camden,  at  the  head  of  an  Ameri 
can  division,  where  he  bore  the  brunt  of  the  day's  fight 
ing.  Rochambeau  cites  him  in  his  Memoir es  as  "a 
French  officer  " ;  and  so  he  was  by  vocation  and  adoption. 
Elsewhere,  in  the  West  Indies,  Admiral  Count  de 
Guichen  had  directed  a  brilliant  crusade  from  March 
to  July,  1780.  First,  he  went  through  skilful  evolutions 
and  splendid  combats,  where  his  adversary  was  the 
famous  Rodney,  the  gambler,  delivered  by  Marechal  de 
Biron,  who  was  at  heart  a  sailor  if  he  did  have  the  spirit 
of  gambling  in  his  veins.  Then,  in  June,  the  arrival  of  a 
Spanish  squadron  and  the  refusal  of  Admiral  don  Solano 
to  attempt  with  Guichen  a  united  action  against  the 
English  fleet.  And  La  Motte-Piquet,  great  protector, 
in  the  West  Indies,  of  the  French  and  Spanish  commerce, 
met  his  cordial  old  enemy,  Hyde  Parker;  or,  rather,  he 
is  going  to  seek  him  soon,  and,  like  Annibal,  find  him, 
and,  wounded,  remain  at  his  post.  Much  glory  but,  on 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE     127 

account  of  the  Spanish  indecision,  little  result:  Jamaica 
was  not  taken,  nor  did  St.  Lucia  become  again  a  French 
colony.  There  was  certainly  some  spitefulness,  and 
almost  despair,  that  made  Guichen  gather  the  merchant 
ships  together  ready  to  go  to  sea  from  all  ports  of  the 
West  Indies  and  set  sail  for  France  on  August  i6th, 
leaving  Monteil,  the  commander  of  the  French  squadron, 
there  with  only  ten  ships  at  San  Domingo. 

De  la  Luzerne,  La  Fayette,  and  Washington  appealed 
to  Guichen  in  vain.  With  the  picture  of  Savannah  be 
fore  him,  he  also  was  afraid  to  run  the  risk,  with  his 
crews  worn  out  and  his  ships  in  a  bad  state.  He  was 
nearly  seventy  years  old ;  a  naval  officer  of  the  first  or 
der,  a  man  of  honor,  if  ever  there  was  one,  who  knew 
how  to  distinguish  "the  extraordinary  from  the  impossi 
ble,"  which  is  the  attribute  of  generous,  noble  hearts. 
We  have  the  touching  letter  that  Washington  wrote  to 
him  on  September  I2th.  Through  him  the  general 
thought  that  the  French  fleet  had  acquired  a  maritime 
superiority  sufficient,  not  to  undertake  anything  in 
regard  to  New  York,  but  "to  attempt  something  de 
cisive  in  the  extreme  South."  He  told  him  that  Gates 
was  defeated ;  that  he  had  lost  his  cannon  and  baggage ; 
in  fact,  he  told  him  everything:  "  To  hide  our  embarrass 
ment  would  be  to  betray  each  other."  Guichen  never 
received  this  letter. 

We  can  understand  why  Washington  appeared  sad 
to  Fersen,  when  on  September  2Oth,  1780,  Rochambeau 
met  him  at  Hartford  (forty  miles  from  Newport)  for 
the  conference  he  had  asked  for  so  long,  and  from  which 
no  plan  of  action  for  the  near  future  was  arranged. 
"There  were  six  of  us,"  relates  Fersen,  who  is  the  only 
one  who  gives  these  details:  "the  Admiral,  the  Chief 
Engineer  (Desandrouin),  the  Viscount  de  Rochambeau 


128    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

(the  General's  son),  and  two  aides-de-camp,  of  whom 
I  was  one.  General  de  Rochambeau  sent  me  in  advance 
to  announce  his  arrival,  and  I  had  the  opportunity  of 
seeing  this  most  illustrious,  if  not  most  unique  man,  of 
our  century.  His  fine  commanding  face,  kind  and 
honest,  answered  perfectly  to  his  moral  qualities;  he 
looked  like  a  hero;  he  was  very  cold  in  manner,  spoke 
but  little  (he  did  not  know  French;  La  Fayette  was 
there  with  Gouvion,  who  was  also  Chef  du  Genie,  and 
served  as  interpreter).  It  was  unseemly  that  such 
a  countenance  should  be  veiled  by  so  much  sadness." 
The  reason  of  Washington's  sadness  was  that  he  judged 
that  the  affairs  of  his  country  were  in  an  almost  hopeless 
condition.  A  month  before,  telling  the  President  of 
Congress  the  miserable  state  of  his  army,  he  said: 
"If  there  does  not  come  a  change  in  the  mind  and  re 
sources  of  this  country,  we  can  expect  to  be  soon  reduced 
to  the  humiliating  position  of  seeing,  in  America,  the 
American  cause  defended  by  foreign  arms.  The  gener 
osity  of  our  Allies  gives  them  the  right  to  our  entire 
confidence.  .  .  .  But  it  is  neither  for  the  honor  of  the 
Union  nor  to  the  interest  of  the  common  cause  to  let 
them  do  it  all." 

While  the  generals  were  in  conference  at  Hartford, 
they  received  the  news  that  the  fleet  of  Admiral  Rodney, 
arriving  at  New  York,  tripled  the  English  forces.  They 
hurried  back  to  their  posts.  Here,  let  us  relate  a  little 
story  told  by  Rochambeau,  which  is  a  fine  example  of  the 
character  of  the  good  Republicans  of  Connecticut:  "In 
going  to  meet  Washington  with  Admiral  de  Ternay  who 
was  quite  infirm,  our  carriage  broke  down.  I  sent  Fer- 
sen,  my  First  Aide-de-camp,  to  find  a  wheelwright,  who 
lived  about  a  mile  away.  He  returned,  saying  that  the 
man  was  sick  with  the  intermittent  fever  and  suffering 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF   FRANCE    129 

very  much,  and  had  answered  that  he  would  not  work  at 
night  for  his  hat  full  of  guineas.  I  asked  the  Admiral 
to  accompany  me,  and  we  went  together  to  plead  with 
him.  We  told  him  that  General  Washington  was  arriv 
ing  that  evening  at  Hartford,  in  order  to  confer  with  us 
the  next  day,  and  that  we  would  miss  this  meeting  if  he 
did  not  repair  our  carriage.  'You  are  telling  the 
truth,'  he  said;  'I  have  read  in  the  Connecticut  papers 
that  Washington  is  to  arrive  this  evening  to  have  a  talk 
with  you ;  I  see  that  this  is  public  service,  your  carriage 
will  be  ready  at  six  o'clock  in  the  morning/  He  kept 
his  word  and  we  went  on  our  way  at  the  hour  indicated. 
On  returning  another  wheel  broke  and  we  were  obliged 
to  go  again  and  parley  with  the  wheelwright.  'Well!' 
he  said,  'you  want  to  make  me  work,  again,  at  night?' — 
'Alas!  yes,'  I  answered,  'Admiral  Rodney  has  arrived, 
and  it  is  most  important  that  we  return  at  once  to  Rhode 
Island.' — 'And  pray  what  are  you  going  to  do  with  your 
six  ships  against  his  twenty  ? ' — '  It  will  be  the  finest  day 
of  our  lives,  if  he  takes  a  notion  to  attack  us  in  our 
harbor.' — 'All  right !'  he  replied.  'You  are  brave  men; 
you  shall  have  your  carriage  by  five  o'clock  in  the  morn 
ing.  But  before  I  go  to  work,  will  you  tell  me,  without 
wishing  to  know  your  secrets,  if  you  are  contented  with 
Washington  ?  And  if  he  is  contented  with  you  ? ' — We 
gave  him  the  assurance  he  desired;  his  patriotism  was 
satisfied,  and  he  kept  his  word.  I  do  not  pretend  to 
say  that  all  the  Americans  resemble  this  good  wheel 
wright,  but  all  the  farmers  in  the  interior,  and  nearly  all 
the  landed  proprietors  of  Connecticut  had  the  same 
public  spirit  which  could  serve  as  a  model  for  many 
others."  What  Rochambeau  did  not  take  the  trouble 
to  tell  us,  is  that  this  is  a  very  pretty  example  of  the  way 
the  Americans  and  French  learned  to  love  each  other. 


130    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

Washington  went  from  Hartford  to  West  Point; 
he  had  hardly  arrived  when  he  discovered  General 
Arnold's  treason.  But  in  spite  of  all  these  reverses, 
there  was  one  man  who  was  continually  evolving  new 
projects  of  immediate  offensive,  and  who  never  ceased 
recommending  them  to  Washington,  with  admirable 
tenacity  and  enthusiasm:  this  was  the  marquis.  He 
had  under  his  command  a  selected  corps  of  2,000  men, 
chosen  from  among  the  regiments  of  the  line.  "The 
mutual  attachment  of  this  corps  and  its  commander," 
they  tell  us,  "passed  as  a  proverb  in  America."  He  had 
brought  from  France,  "for  a  considerable  sum,  emblems 
for  the  soldiers,  swords  for  the  officers  and  sub-officers, 
and  flags  for  the  battalions."  A  troop  well  disciplined, 
badly  uniformed,  but  of  fine  appearance;  they  were 
recognized  by  their  tall  red  and  black  plumes.  How  was 
it  possible  not  to  fight  with  such  men  as  these !  The 
activities  of  La  Fayette,  from  October,  1780,  to  January, 
1781,  are  as  follows:  At  the  beginning  of  October,  a  plan 
of  attack  upon  Staten  Island,  which  failed  for  lack  of 
obtaining  supplies;  that  is  to  say,  for  want  of  boats; 
on  October  3Oth,  a  plan  of  an  expedition  upon  the 
north  of  the  island  of  New  York,  which  was  aban 
doned  after  some  reconnoitering  of  the  ports.  La 
Fayette  held  to  the  idea  that  any  enterprise  would  please 
the  public;  "that  even  a  defeat,  provided  it  was  not  dis 
astrous,  would  still  have  its  good  effects."  Washington 
responded,  that  an  attempt  which  would  prove  unsuc 
cessful  would  make  matters  worse ;  and  La  Fayette,  him 
self,  once  before  the  forts,  had  very  different  impressions 
from  those  his  hope  had  raised;  he  could  only  curse 
the  English  guard,  the  "fatal  sentinel,"  that  Gouvion 
pointed  out  to  him  upon  a  certain  high  battery;  and 
then,  he  turned  back.  But  he  still  sought  his  revenge; 


SOLDIERS  AND   SAILORS   OF   FRANCE     131 

and  from  Philadelphia,  December  5th,  he  proposed  to 
Washington  to  concert  immediately  with  the  Spanish 
who  were  then  in  the  Floridas.  What  would  Rocham- 
beau  think?  Happily,  Washington  asked  himself  this 
question,  and  concluded  "that  it  would  be  impolitic 
and  useless  to  propose  a  measure  of  co-operation  with 
a  third  power,  without  the  aid  of  the  French  troops." 
Now  he  knew  that  Rochambeau  would  not  give  in  at 
once.  Finally,  tired  of  insisting,  the  marquis  became 
resigned;  but,  on  the  3Oth  of  January,  1781,  he  wrote 
to  Vergennes,  representing  to  him  that  the  defensive 
position  was  "as  dangerous  as  it  was  humiliating," 
that  naval  superiority  must  be  given  to  us,  and  money 
sent  as  soon  as  possible.  This  letter  could  not  remain 
without  some  result.  La  Fayette  recommended  to 
the  Minister,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Laurens,  who  was 
charged  by  Congress  with  a  mission  to  the  court  of 
Versailles.  We  will  soon  see  what  instructions  Wash 
ington  gave  him  and  how  he  executed  them. 

But  already  the  Viscount  de  Rochambeau,  son  of  the 
general,  was  in  France,  bearer  of  a  complete  memoran 
dum  of  our  needs  in  men,  ships,  and  money.  He  was 
also  the  bearer  of  all  the  dispatches  of  General  Rocham 
beau,  and  had  learned  them  by  heart,  "so  that  he  could 
be  able  to  render  a  verbal  account  to  the  Ministry,  if 
he  had  the  misfortune  to  be  caught,  after  having  thrown 
his  papers  overboard,"  and  was  sent  back  on  parole. 
On  October  28th,  1781,  taking  advantage  of  a  violent 
wind-storm  that  had  dispersed  the  English  fleet,  La 
P£rouse  left  Newport  harbor  upon  the  Amazone, 
carrying  the  messenger  from  Rochambeau  to  France. 
The  frigate  lost  one  of  her  masts,  but  she  made  her 
escape,  and  the  viscount  was  not  taken  prisoner  by  the 
English.  On  the  following  8th  of  May  he  returned  upon 


I32     SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

the  Concorde.  With  him  the  new  commander  of  the 
squadron,  Count  de  Barras,  disembarked  upon  American 
soil.  He  came  to  replace  Admiral  de  Ternay,  who  died, 
perhaps  of  chagrin,  at  being  reduced  to  inaction  so  long. 
On  December  I5th,  1780,  Rochambeau  had  given  well- 
merited  praise  to  the  great  probity  of  this  excellent  navi 
gator  whom  P6rouse  mourned  like  a  son  for  his  father. 
This  should  be  enough  to  avenge  him  for  other  judg 
ments  less  kind.  His  body  reposes  in  the  cemetery  at 
Newport;  a  marble  slab  was  placed  in  a  church  of  this 
town  through  the  consideration  of  the  Marquis  de 
Noailles,  Minister  of  France,  which  recalls  the  high 
qualities  and  noble  service  of  this  naval  officer,  who  died 
upon  a  far-distant  shore  for  his  King  and  for  American 
liberty. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

WINTER  QUARTERS — CHEVALIER  DE  CHASTELLUX  MAKES 
A  TOUR — CAMPAIGN  OF  WAR — IN  THE  CAROLINAS— 
EXPEDITION  IN  THE  CHESAPEAKE — EMBARRASSMENT 
OF  THE  POLITICAL  SITUATION  IN  EUROPE — FIDELITY 
OF  FRANCE 

While  the  French  Ministry  is  deliberating  over  the 
demands  of  the  French  and  American  generals,  let  us 
remain  near  them  in  America.  In  November  the 
armies  went  into  winter  quarters:  the  Pennsylvania 
troops  at  Morristown,  those  of  New  Jersey  at  Pompton, 
those  of  the  east  in  the  mountains  of  the  north;  Wash 
ington  at  New  Windsor;  the  French  army,  with  the 
exception  of  Lauzun,  never  left  Newport.  It  was  with 
regret  that  Lauzun  took  leave  of  Mrs.  Hunter  and  her 
charming  daughters;  there  was  no  fodder  in  Rhode  Isl 
and  for  his  cavalry.  He  departed  then,  on  November 
loth,  with  all  his  horses  for  Lebanon,  eighty  miles  dis 
tant,  in  the  forests  of  Connecticut.  He  complained  of 
having  been  chosen,  because  he  knew  English,  "to  reg 
ulate  an  infinite  number  of  details  mortally  tiresome." 
Up  to  January  nth  he  remained  in  this  Siberia.  Ro- 
chambeau  praised  him  for  having  pleased  the  Americans 
by  his  affable  manners,  and  for  having  succeeded  well  in 
all  the  affairs  that  he  had  treated,  whether  with  Trum- 
bull,  the  aged  governor,  or  the  legislative  body  of  the 
State.  "A  good  American,"  adds  the  general,  "asked 
Lauzun  what  his  father's  business  was  in  France. — 
'My  father  does  not  do  anything,1  he  replied,  'but  I 
have  an  uncle  who  is  a  marechal'  (alluding,  of  course,  to 


134    SOLDIERS  AND   SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

Marechal  de  Biron). — 'Good!'  said  the  American,  who 
did  not  doubt  but  that  he  meant  a  farrier,  knowing  only 
the  one  meaning  of  marechal  himself;  and  giving  Lauzun 
a  hearty  grasp  of  the  hand,  he  continued:  'That's  a  fine 
job."' 

Chevalier  de  Chastellux  paid  a  visit  to  poor  Lauzun, 
to  help  him  pass  away  the  weary  hours.  Lauzun  enter 
tained  him  with  a  squirrel  hunt,  and  had  him  dine 
with  General  Huntington  and  old  Governor  Trumbull. 
We  can  imagine  the  life  the  duke  led  with  the  venerable 
Mr.  Trumbull.  He  was  a  little  old  man  of  seventy 
years,  a  real  burgomaster  "of  the  days  of  the  Heinsius' 
and  the  Barnevelts,"  with  a  passionate  love  for  business, 
for  either  large  or  small  affairs;  "but  indeed,  there  were 
none  that  were  small  in  his  eyes."  He  wore  the  costume 
of  the  first  colonists.  Chastellux  saw  him  at  Lebanon: 
he  approached  a  table  already  surrounded  by  twenty 
officers  of  the  hussars,  and  without  being  disconcerted 
in  the  least,  nor  losing  anything  of  the  stiffness  of  his 
dignity,  he  pronounced  in  a  loud  voice  a  long  prayer  in 
the  form  of  a  blessing.  Do  not  think  for  an  instant  that 
he  excited  the  risibility  of  his  audience;  it  was  too 
well-bred;  on  the  contrary,  there  arose  from  under  the 
twenty  moustaches  a  full  chorus  of  twenty  amens. 
Trumbull  and  Lauzun,  the  first  considerate  and  always 
referring,  the  second  listening  and  deferring,  agreed 
marvelously  well.  Trumbull  and  Mrs.  Hunter  were, 
after  all,  for  Lauzun 's  serenity,  better  company  for  him 
than  the  court  of  Versailles. 

Many  of  the  officers  employed  the  winter  in  visiting 
the  country;  no  doubt  they  might  have  been  pleased 
just  to  travel,  but  at  the  same  time  they  learned  to  love 
the  Americans  and  make  the  Americans  love  them; 
they  made  their  tour  as  staff-officers  over  the  battle- 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE     135 

fields  of  the  past  few  years.  In  November,  Washington 
received  the  Marquis  de  Laval-Montmorency,  the 
Count  de  Charlus,  the  Viscount  de  Noailles,  the  Cheva 
lier  de  Chastellux;  others  later,  notably,  the  Count  de 
Saint- Maime.  La  Fayette  relates  to  his  wife  that 
"Laval  and  Custine  disputed  throughout  the  whole 
trip,  and  at  each  position  on  the  battle-field  protested 
that  they  could  have  done  better  than  either  the  Ameri 
can  or  the  English  generals;  but  each  one  had  his  own 
idea,  and  never  agreed  upon  the  manner  of  doing  it." 
Noailles  and  Damas  made  "a  grand  tour  of  the  conti 
nent."  Deux- Fonts,  to  whom  La  Fayette  was  de 
voted,  appeared  also  at  General  Headquarters.  All 
were  charmed  with  Washington.  Unhappily,  their  im 
pressions  have  not  been  transmitted ;  or  rather,  they  have 
not  yet  been  edited.  But  Chastellux's  book  is  rich 
enough  to  give  us  an  idea  of  the  welcome  the  French 
received  from  the  Americans — their  Allies — during  the 
winter  of  1780-1781. 

On  November  28th,  near  the  great  falls  of  the  Passaic 
in  New  Jersey,  the  Chevalier  de  Chastellux  was  received 
by  Washington.  He  gives  us  that  fine  portrait  of  him 
that  reveals  both  the  artist  and  the  model,  and  all  the 
traditional  ideas  that  the  cultivated  minds  of  the  cen 
tury  decreed,  while  in  the  liberator  of  America  he  ex 
tols  his  moral  character  and  unites  him  with  the  great 
souls  of  the  past.  Montaigne  did  not  speak  differently 
of  Epaminondas:  "That  which  is  most  characteristic 
of  this  most  honorable  man,  is  the  perfect  accord  of  his 
physical  and  moral  qualities.  By  one  alone  you  can 
judge  all  the  others.  If  you  are  presented  with  the  medals 
of  Caesar,  Trajan  or  Alexander,  for  example,  upon  look 
ing  at  their  features  you  still  wonder  what  would  be 
their  size  and  the  form  of  their  bodies;  but,  if  you  dis- 


136    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

cover  among  some  ruins  the  head  of  an  antique  Apollo, 
there  is  no  doubt  in  your  mind  about  the  rest  of  the 
statue,  for  you  know  that  it  has  the  form  of  a  God.  Let 
not  this  comparison  be  attributed  to  enthusiasm," 
continues  the  chevalier;  "I  do  not  wish  to  exaggerate 
anything;  I  only  desire  to  express  a  perfect  whole, 
which  cannot  be  produced  by  enthusiasm,  but  which 
would  rather  repel  it,  since  the  property  of  perfect  pro 
portion  is  to  diminish  the  idea  of  greatness.  Brave 
without  temerity,  laborious  without  ambition,  generous 
without  prodigality,  noble  without  pride,  virtuous  with 
out  severity,  he  seemed  always  to  stop  on  that  side  of 
the  barrier,  where  virtues  clothing  themselves  in  so  many 
vivid  colors,  appear  to  be  more  changeable  and  doubtful 
and  may  be  taken  for  defects.  General  of  a  Republic  he 
does  not  have  that  imposing  ostentation  of  a  Marshal  of 
France  giving  an  order;  hero  of  a  Republic  he  excites 
another  sort  of  respect,  which  seems  to  give  birth  to 
but  one  idea, — that  the  salvation  of  each  individual  is 
attached  to  his  personality." 

I  cannot  resist  giving  another  sketch,  by  the  chevalier, 
of  Washington  on  horseback,  which  is  possibly  unique. 
Chastellux  was  mounted  upon  a  horse  loaned  him  by 
the  general;  the  animal  was  "perfectly  trained,  well- 
formed,  with  a  fine  mouth  and  good  traits,  stopping 
short  at  full  gallop  without  seizing  and  clinching  the  bit 
'between  its  teeth.  I  enter  into  these  details,"  says 
Chastellux,  "because  it  is  the  General  himself  who  trains 
all  of  his  own  horses;  he  is  a  fine,  daring  horseman, 
jumping  the  highest  bars  and  going  at  a  very  fast 
gait,  without  hanging  on  the  stirrups,  pulling  on  the 
reins,  or  letting  his  horse  go  like  wild,  a  thing  that  our 
young  men  regard  as  an  essential  part  of  English  horse 
manship,  and  would  rather  break  their  arms  and  legs 
than  give  it  up." 


SOLDIERS  AND   SAILORS  OF  FRANCE     137 

What  do  we  not  find  in  Chastellux !  If  you  wish  to 
know  what  the  Americans  ate,  how  they  made  their 
toasts,  how  many  toasts  they  made,  which  was  a  de 
spairing  and  barbarous  custom;  if  you  wish  to  see  the 
chevalier  in  the  hands  of  some  "cruelly  charitable" 
persons  who  were  incessantly  pulling  at  him  at  table  to 
call  his  attention  to  numerous  and  exhausting  polite 
nesses  which  each  one  addressed  to  him  as  he  drank; 
if  you  are  curious  about  the  manner  in  which  they  took 
their  tea,  and  kept  on  taking  their  tea,  and  he  did  the 
same  thing,  until  a  neighbor,  who  was  better  informed 
about  the  ceremony  than  he,  told  him  the  way  of  stop 
ping  the  hostilities  by  putting  his  spoon  across  the  top 
of  his  cup;  if  you  wish  to  know  this  and  much  more 
besides,  read  the  Voyages  dans  VAmerigue  septentrionale. 
You  will  also  find  this  pretty  scene  there.  It  is  in  Phila 
delphia;  M.  de  la  Luzerne  entertains  his  guests,  Damas, 
Noailles,  Chastellux,  possibly  Lauzun,  with  an  evening 
concert:  "Miss  Rutledge  played  on  the  harpsichord  and 
played  very  well.  Miss  Shippen  sang  timidly  but  had  a 
sweet  voice.  M.  Ottaw,  Secretary  of  the  Chevalier  de  la 
Luzerne,  brought  his  harp  and  accompanied  Miss  Ship- 
pen,  and  he  also  played  a  few  solos.  .  .  .  The  Viscount 
de  Noailles  found  an  old  violin,  mounted  it  with  harp 
strings  and  had  the  young  ladies  dance,  while  their 
mothers  and  other  graver  personages  were  conversing 
in  another  room." 

Those  were  gay,  happy  days !  And  after  their  pil 
grimage  to  the  Brandywine,  Montesquieu,  Noailles,  the 
marquis,  the  chevalier  would  often  talk  "about  many 
incidents  in  Paris  of  their  own  circle  of  friends." 
There  was  such  a  flow  of  spirits  that  the  country  people 
at  the  inn  could  not  understand  how  they  "could  be 
so  hilarious  without  being  drunk,  and  thought  they  had 
gone  crazy." 


138    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

Can  we  guess  what  Chastellux  considered  his  good 

fortune?  Certainly  it  was  not  Miss  V ,  "celebrated 

for  her  coquetry,  wit  and  malice,  who  wore  red,  white 
and  blue,  and  being  a  good  Whig  in  every  way,  she  put 
no  limit  to  her  liberty";  assuredly  not  one  of  the  pretty 
young  girls  who  danced,  under  the  guidance  of  a  severe 
master,  figures  that  they  called  the  Defeat  of  Burgoyne 
or  the  Retreat  of  Clinton;  still  less  the  mothers  of  the 
families,  "gowned  magnificently  enough"  but  did  not 
have  that  light,  gay  spirit  so  attractive  in  the  French 
women.  No,  it  is  not  any  of  these  things — it  is  a 
meeting  with  Samuel  Adams,  of  Massachusetts;  we 
know  for  what  superfluous  purpose — it  was  to  show  to  his 
partenaire  the  justice  of  the  American  cause.  "I  firmly 
believe,"  said  Chastellux,  "that  Parliament  has  no  right 
to  tax  America  without  her  consent,  and  I  also  believe 
that  when  a  noble  people  say,  'We  want  to  be  free,'  it  is 
difficult  to  prove  that  they  are  in  the  wrong.  .  .  .  Never 
theless,  Mr.  Adams  demonstrated  to  me  in  a  very  satis 
factory  way,  that  New  England  had  not  been  settled 
with  a  view  to  commerce  and  aggrandizement;  but  by 
individuals  who  fled  from  persecution,  and  sought  an  asy 
lum  at  the  other  end  of  the  world  where  they  would  be 
free  to  live  according  to  their  opinions."  "  I  agree  with 
you  so  far,  but  let  us  speak  of  the  future,"  said  Chas 
tellux.  "The  inequality  of  fortunes  will  increase,  and 
your  government  is  founded  upon  the  complete  equality 
of  its  citizens,  upon  the  right  of  votes  for  all ;  will  there 
not  be  in  that  a  source  of  contradiction  ?  A  poor  man 
by  the  side  of  a  rich  one  will  suddenly  become  a  criminal 
Which  evil  will  win?  Aristocracy  or  anarchy?"  Mr. 
Adams  was  not  to  be  convinced,  but  let  us  abandon 
Chastellux  to  his  substantial  good  fortune. 

Another  time  he  met  some  Quakers.     He  found  them 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE    139 

very  tiresome ;  upon  leaving  their  meetings  he  had  to  go 
and  rejoice  his  soul  in  the  Anglican  services;  sonatas 
played  upon  the  organ,  a  fine  minister  singing  in  a  most 
theatrical  voice,  melodious  responses  from  a  young 
woman;  in  fact,  "it  was  more  of  a  little  paradise,  than 
the  road  to  paradise."  On  the  whole,  the  Quakers  have, 
"as  a  contrast  to  their  uncouthness,  a  coaxing,  smooth 
tongue,  quite  Jesuit-like."  But  some  of  them  are  so 
estimable !  Benezet,  for  example,  who  had  a  "shabby, 
humble  appearance,"  passionately  benevolent,  desirous 
of  drawing  from  Chastellux  information  about  the  most 
recent  methods  invented  in  France  for  saving  the  ship 
wrecked.  "My  friend,"  said  the  Quaker,  "will  not  the 
men  of  letters  try  to  disgust  the  other  men  with  war,  and 
make  them  live  together  like  brothers  and  friends?" — 
"Thou  deceivest  thyself,  my  friend,"  responded  the 
chevalier,  "when  thou  foundest  thy  hopes  upon  the 
progress  of  enlightenment  through  philosophy.  There 
are  some  energetic  hands  working  now  on  the  great  edi 
fice  of  public  happiness;  but  uselessly  will  they  try 
to  finish  any  part  of  it,  while  the  foundation  is  lacking, 
and  this  foundation,  as  thou  hast  said,  is  general  peace. 
As  for  intolerance  and  persecution  ...  I  will  whisper 
a  word  in  thy  ear,  of  which  perhaps  thou  wilt  not  seize 
the  whole  meaning,  although  thou  knowest  the  French 
language  very  well;  they  are  no  longer  in  the  fashion. 
.  .  ."  Voltaire  can  sleep  in  peace.  "I  like  thy  nation 
because  it  is  kind  and  sensible,"  continued  the  Quaker. 
Thereupon  he  gave  the  chevalier  a  long  list  of  his 
brothers  residing  in  Rhode  Island,  so  as  to  put  them 
under  his  protection,  and  according  to  the  Quaker  cus 
tom,  presented  him  with  several  tracts.  The  French 
friend  revenged  himself  by  writing  in  his  book:  "Fortu 
nately,  the  small  amount  of  zeal  the  Quakers  have  shown 


140    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

in  the  present  crisis  has  made  them  lose  their  credit. 
This  revolution  conies  at  a  propitious  time  where  we 
have  drawn  out  of  them  all  that  we  can  expect :  the  walls 
of  the  house  are  completed,  it  is  time  now  to  call  the 
decorators." 

Very  active  operations  were  in  progress  from  January 
to  June,  1781,  in  Carolina  and  on  the  borders  of  Virginia. 
It  was  the  memorable  duel  between  Lord  Cornwallis 
and  General  Greene.  When  Greene  came  to  take  com 
mand  of  the  American  army,  instead  of  Gates,  who  was 
recalled,  General  Morgan,  on  January  I7th,  at  the  Ford 
of  the  Broad,  was  inflicting  a  severe  defeat  on  the  Eng 
lish  under  Colonel  Tarleton.  But  Cornwallis  still  pur 
sued  his  design  of  transporting  the  seat  of  war  into  the 
rich  and  powerful  country  of  Virginia.  Greene  was 
thwarting  his  purpose.  The  campaign,  on  both  sides, 
was  conducted  with  tenacity  and  admirable  skill. 
In  order  to  lighten  the  march,  Lord  Cornwallis  had 
destroyed  nearly  all  his  train;  in  spite  of  the  lack  of 
food,  and  the  long,  circuitous  routes  they  were  compelled 
to  take  across  a  country  cut  by  many  streams,  his  men 
followed  him  without  a  murmur,  contented  with  some 
times  only  two  ears  of  corn  for  rations,  because  they  had 
seen  him  at  their  head  at  Brandywine,  German  town,  and 
Monmouth.  He  defeated  Greene,  March  I5th,  at  Guil- 
f ord  Court  House,  or,  at  least,  he  held  the  field  of  battle ; 
but  he  suffered  such  great  losses  that  he  could  not  pur 
sue  him.  He  marched  160  miles  in  order  to  gain,  by 
April  7th,  Wilmington,  on  Cape  Fear,  whence  he  thought 
he  could  make  sure  of  his  water  communications  with 
Charleston.  Meanwhile,  abandoning  North  Carolina, 
where  the  armies  passing  through  it  had  left  the  country 
almost  without  resources,  Greene  rushed  onward  into 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE     141 

South  Carolina;  he  arrived  before  the  town  of  Camden 
on  April  7th.  It  is  true  that  Lord  Rawdon  obliged  him 
to  retire;  but,  nevertheless,  Charleston  on  account  of 
this  movement  remained  cut  off  from  Camden.  On  May 
loth  the  taking  of  Fort  Watson  by  the  Americans  ren 
dered  it  impossible  for  the  English  to  keep  Camden. 
Greene  recaptured  Orangeburg,  Forts  Mott,  Granby,  and 
Augusta;  finally,  he  invested  Ninety-six,  an  important 
post,  in  the  interior  of  South  Carolina,  and  stormed  it 
on  June  iQth.  As  in  Camden,  the  English  held  it;  but 
a  month  later  Lord  Rawdon  retired,  after  having  de 
molished  the  fort ;  his  troops  were  not  strong  enough  to 
guard  positions  so  far  from  Charleston.  And  at  this 
date  Greene's  strategy  was  to  combine  with  another 
officer,  of  whom  we  will  soon  speak.  Greene,  of  Quaker 
origin,  who  on  account  of  his  worldly  propensities  was 
forced  to  leave  the  sect,  became  one  of  the  most  inspired 
of  the  American  commanders:  "When  the  History  of 
the  United  States  will  have  become  ancient,  students 
will  be  taught  to  celebrate  (as  they  did  the  heroes  of 
Rome  and  Greece)  those  heroes  of  the  campaign  that 
began  in  the  South  against  the  English  Army,  after  the 
unmerited  defeat  into  which  Gates  threw  his  troops 
when  Lincoln  had  lost  Charleston.  Rarely  has  there 
been  seen  such  devotion  and  suffering,  so  much  patriotic 
loyalty  and  ardent  valor,  in  the  soldier,  added  to  a 
like  display  of  intelligent  resolution  and  improvised 
talent,  and  equal  devotion  on  the  part  of  the  command 
ers.  .  .  .  And  this  glory  belongs  entirely  to  the  United 
States."  Who  is  speaking  in  this  manner  of  the  Ameri 
cans?  It  is  not  the  Chevalier  de  Chastellux  this  time, 
but  Doniol,  another  enthusiast  of  a  different  order. — La 
Fayette  is  the  one  who  will  come  to  the  aid  of  Greene. 
By  the  French,  up  to  March,  there  had  been  two  at- 


142    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

tempts  at  sea  attacks.  They  still  continued  to  have 
storms  favorable  to  them,  for  in  January  the  English 
fleet  that  blockaded  Newport  was  seriously  damaged. 
Swiftly,  while  their  ships  were  being  repaired,  Des- 
touches  sent  De  Tilly  down  to  Chesapeake  Bay  with 
the  ship  Eveille,  the  frigates  Surveillante  and  Gen- 
title,  and  the  cutter  Guepe.  The  State  of  Virginia 
had  urged  them  to  come  by  sea  to  her  aid;  Arnold  had 
just  landed  with  1,500  men  and  was  ravaging  her 
coasts.  The  mission  of  this  little  squadron  was  to  go 
up  the  James  River,  burn  Arnold's  transports  and  de 
stroy  his  escorts,  a  vessel  and  two  frigates  that  were 
bringing  their  broadsides  to  bear,  so  as  to  sustain  him. 
But  the  Eveille  drew  too  much  water  to  be  able  to  reach 
the  English  flotilla.  De  Tilly  captured  three  corsairs, 
six  brigs,  and  a  few  transports.  As  he  was  returning 
he  met  the  Romulus,  a  vessel  of  forty-four  cannon. 
The  Eveille  presented  herself  across  the  path  of  the 
Romulus  at  pistol  range,  the  Gentille  placed  herself  along 
side;  the  Romulus  hauled  down  her  flag,  then  her  pen 
nant,  and  surrendered  without  firing  a  single  cannon. 
De  Tilly  manned  his  prize;  she  carried  500  prisoners. 
On  the  25th  of  February  he  returned  to  Newport. 

Washington,  on  March  6th,  arrived  at  the  General 
Headquarters  of  Rochambeau.  He  was  received  with 
all  the  honors  due  a  marshal  of  France.  "This  inter 
view  of  the  two  Generals,"  says  Mathieu  Dumas,  "was 
a  veritable  fete  for  us.  We  were  impatient  to  see  the 
hero  of  liberty.  His  noble  greeting,  his  simple  manners, 
his  gentle  gravity  surpassed  our  expectations;  he  won 
all  of  our  hearts."  La  Fayette  enjoyed  the  honors 
paid  to  Washington;  he  had  looked  forward  to  them 
with  great  pleasure,  which  is  proved  by  his  letter  to  his 
wife  on  February  2d,  when  he  was  hoping  for  this  inter- 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE     143 

view:  "When  you  recall  what  they  thought  in  France 
of  these  poor  rebels  when  I  came  over  to  be  hung  with 
them,  and  when  you  think  of  my  tender  sentiment  for 
General  Washington,  you  will  realize  how  enraptured 
I  shall  be  to  see  him  received  there  as  Generalissimo  of 
the  combined  armies  of  the  two  nations."  Mathieu 
Dumas  was  also  a  close  observer  on  this  occasion; 
later  on,  he  praises  the  fatherly  affability  of  Washing 
ton,  his  serious  conversation,  and  his  gentle  good  humor. 
He  watches  him  with  tender  veneration — he  follows  the 
general's  glance,  which  rests  so  lovingly  upon  La  Fayette, 
"his  adopted  son  and  pupil."  But  already,  on  the  I3th 
of  March,  it  was  necessary  for  Washington  to  depart. 
He  solicited,  as  a  special  favor,  to  be  allowed  to  accom 
pany  him  as  far  as  Providence,  a  pleasant  place  which 
he  had  visited  more  than  once,  studying  the  customs, 
language,  political  parties;  and  being  welcomed  famil 
iarly  at  the  home  of  Doctor  Bowne.  And  how  he  en 
joyed  the  acclamations  of  the  people  for  the  hero  of 
independence  !  It  was  night ;  a  crowd  of  children  rushed 
to  the  edge  of  the  town  of  Providence  to  meet  him,  bear 
ing  torches  and  acting  as  escort.  All  of  them  wanted 
to  touch  him;  the  citizens  called  him  their  father: 
"General  Washington,  much  moved,  stopped  an  instant, 
and  pressing  my  hand  said:  'We  may  be  beaten  by  the 
English,  it  is  the  chance  of  arms;  but  here  is  an  army 
that  they  can  never  vanquish.' " 

He  had  come  to  Newport  to  regulate  with  Rocham- 
beau  the  details  of  a  more  serious  expedition  in  Chesa 
peake  Bay.  Our  fleet  was  to  act  in  unison  with  La 
Fayette,  who,  with  1,200  light  infantry,  was  to  feign 
an  attack  upon  Staten  Island,  march  by  Philadelphia 
to  the  Head-of-Elk,  board  some  small  boats,  go  to  An 
napolis,  and  then  from  there  to  Williamsburg,  where  he 


144    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

was  to  assemble  the  militia  of  Virginia,  blockade  Ports 
mouth,  and  await  the  co-operation  of  the  French. 
Thus  did  the  marquis  with  his  usual  impetuosity.  But 
it  seems  he  did  not  have  much  confidence  in  the  com 
bined  plan.  He  rather  expected  some  cavilling  again; 
he  imagined — and  he  said  to  Washington  the  very  day 
the  French  fleet  set  sail — that  Rochambeau  intended  to 
reserve  for  the  French  troops  alone  the  honor  of  shedding 
their  blood  and  carrying  off  the  victory.  On  the  other 
hand,  contrary  to  the  views  of  Washington,  who  had 
desired  that  the  French  detachment  should  be  under  the 
command  of  Lauzun,  Rochambeau  chose  the  Baron 
de  Viomenil,  which  La  Fayette,  evidently,  did  not 
consider  good  diplomacy.  It  was  already  a  good  deal 
to  have  to  calm  the  impetuosity  of  the  Baron  de  Steuben ; 
what  would  it  be  when  he  should  have  to  moderate 
"or  correct  the  errors  of  two  barons**!  Fersen,  much 
fascinated  by  Lauzun,  whose  "beautiful  soul"  he  ad 
mired,  noticed  also  that  there  was  a  little  coolness  be 
tween  the  two  generals.  In  the  end  the  expedition 
failed,  without  any  one  in  particular  being  to  blame. 
The  French  ships  could  not  be  at  the  appointed  place, 
because  the  English  fleet  followed  them  at  twenty-four 
hours'  distance;  Destouches  had  among  his  ships  four 
vessels  not  copper-lined;  "for  lack  of  speed"  they  re 
mained  several  miles  in  the  rear.  The  others  were 
forced  to  go  slow  and  wait  for  them;  and  finally,  the 
two  fleets,  on  the  i6th  of  March,  faced  each  other  off 
Chesapeake  Bay.  The  Conquer  ant  and  the  Ardent  were 
sorely  tried;  to  continue  the  fight  was  impossible. 
Destouches  led  his  ships  back  to  Rhode  Island. 

Let  us  not  deceive  ourselves  with  the  thought  that 
this  combat  had  not  been  glorious :  courage  and  presence 
of  mind  of  De  la  Grandiere,  "a  poor,  simple,  little  man 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE     145 

who  hardly  knew  how  to  write,"  but  who  could  give  a 
few  lessons  in  courage  to  the  most  learned;  skilful 
manoeuvres  of  De  la  Clocheterie;  the  bravery  of  Ma- 
rigny,  who,  "with  the  yardarm  of  his  topsail  broken," 
repaired  another  "in  less  than  a  quarter  of  an  hour," 
nearly  at  the  cannon's  mouth;  the  land  troops  doing 
"prodigious  work"  and  comporting  themselves  so 
bravely  on  board  "  that  the  sailors  of  the  detachment 
came  back  as  delighted  with  them  as  if  they  were  their 
own  brothers";  the  high  spirits  of  all  the  crews  during 
the  whole  battle — all  of  this  was  reported  to  the  King; 
and  Chastellux  begged  De  Castries  to  appoint  Des- 
touches  as  commander  of  a  squadron,  in  order  "to  give 
solemnity  to  this  combat,"  the  first  that  was  fought  on 
the  American  coast  between  the  two  powerful  fleets  of 
France  and  Great  Britain.  Noailles,  Damas,  Laval, 
Lameth  distinguished  themselves.  Nevertheless,  France 
remained  unjust  to  Destouches;  but  America  was  not. 
Washington  wrote  to  Rochambeau  on  March  3ist: 
"I  admire  the  fine,  valorous  conduct  of  Chevalier  Des 
touches  and  his  squadron  during  the  course  of  this 
action  .  .  .  Arnold's  salvation  was  due  only  to  the 
winds."  Congress  saw  in  this  stubborn  combat,  sus 
tained  against  a  superior  force,  the  happy  forerunner  of 
a  victory.  It  was  not  deceived. 

The  Concorde  arrived  on  the  8th  of  May  at  Boston; 
she  brought  back  the  Viscount  de  Rochambeau.  This 
was  the  second  time  that  news  was  received  from  France 
in  1781:  at  the  end  of  February,  La  Perouse  had  re 
turned  upon  the  Astree  bringing  with  him  1,053,000 
limes,  but  also  the  sad  assertion  that  France  had  now 
to  aid  Holland,  attacked  by  England,  and  that  the 
court  of  Versailles  demanded  time  to  resolve  upon  a 


146    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

more  energetic  action  in  the  United  States.     The  Con 
corde  was  a  more  propitious  messenger. 

Almost  alone  France  had  to  face  everything.  Spain 
was  haunted  with  the  idea  of  a  prompt  and  advanta 
geous  peace,  even  if  the  interests  of  our  American  allies 
had  to  be  sacrificed;  this  we  would  not  admit.  On 
April  25th,  1780,  Louis  XVI  wrote  an  admirable  letter 
to  Charles  III  of  Spain,  recalling  to  him  that  he  was  not 
seeking  either  vainglory  or  conquests,  but  reparation 
for  the  insults  to  the  French  flag,  and  the  salvation  "of 
an  oppressed  people  who  had  thrown  themselves  into 
his  arms."  While  France  was  engaged  heart  and  soul 
in  a  righteous  war,  Spain  was  "managing  a  retreat  be 
hind  England";  it  came  to  the  point  that  the  court  of 
Madrid  had  refused  to  receive  Gerard,  on  his  return  from 
America,  on  account  of  his  qualification  as  representative 
of  France  to  Congress.  "Our  ambassador  endured  the 
affront,  although  it  passed  all  conception,"  said  Ver- 
gennes.  In  response  to  our  good  faith,  Charles  III 
raised  a  corner  of  the  mask.  On  April  22d,  1780,  in 
an  unabashed  manner,  he  gave  notice  to  his  beloved 
brother  and  nephew,  the  King  of  France,  of  the  presence 
at  Aranjuez  of  the  Scotchman  Dalrymple.  "An  out 
rageous  gossip  and  a  passable  liar,"  Doniol  tells  us, 
flattering  himself  upon  his  acquaintance  with  Necker, 
and  coming  to  hint  at  peace.  On  May  i6th  a  more 
qualified  emissary  arrived:  Cumberland,  Secretary 
of  the  Foreign  Office,  "attended  by  a  certain  Abbe 
Hussey,  an  Irishman  who  had  been  chaplain  at  the 
Spanish  Embassy  in  London."  Hussey  arrived  at 
Madrid  alone;  Cumberland  passed  for  a  person  in  his 
service,  who  was  waiting  in  Portugal  (where  Vergennes 
had  "a  most  arrant  blockhead")  the  orders  to  join 
his  master;  six  weeks  later  Charles  III  called  Cumber 
land  to  court. 


SOLDIERS  AND   SAILORS  OF  FRANCE     147 

And  now  we  are  soon  to  find  D'Estaing  in  this 
fine  company.  "They  thought  that  they  would  place 
him  in  Cordova,  as  he  had  grown  so  old  that  he  was 
nearly  in  his  dotage."  It  was  he,  however,  who  fought 
this  combined  plotting  of  England  and  the  court  of 
Spain.  "The  whole  Spanish  nation,*'  said  De  Florida- 
Blanca  (who  was  always  either  stormy  and  cloudy,  or 
clearing  suddenly),  "wants  the  conqueror  of  Grenada." 
The  King  welcomed  him  on  August  3d,  1780,  at  Saint- 
Ildefonse.  Flattered,  questioned,  consulted,  the  ad 
miral,  always  supported  upon  his  glorious  crutches, 
promenaded  in  the  gardens  of  Saint-Ildefonse,  upon  the 
same  terrace  as  Cumberland.  On  the  third  day,  Au 
gust  the  5th,  the  English  papers  published  this  notice 
coming  from  Madrid,  the  effect  of  which  threatened  to 
be  deplorable  in  America:  "According  to  all'  appear 
ances,  it  will  not  be  long  before  peace  will  be  concluded 
between  England  and  Spain.  ..."  It  was  added  that 
France  was  invited  to  join  the  treaty,  but  that  in  case 
this  power  refused,  Spain  had  this  affair  so  much  at 
heart,  that  rather  than  fail  to  make  this  treaty,  she 
would  break  the  Family  Compact.  D'Estaing  could 
do  no  more;  however,  he  waited  for  his  recall  until  No 
vember  8th. 

Under  the  ever-increasing  burden  France  did  not  falter. 
Spain  refused  to  help  in  the  expense  of  the  preparations 
for  an  attack  upon  England ;  it  was  necessary  to  repair 
our  ships  or  construct  others,  to  maintain  the  army  of 
Rochambeau,  the  squadron  of  Guichen,  the  troops  not 
embarked  that  remained  on  our  coasts,  and  to  advance 
money  to  Franklin.  On  September  27th,  1780,  when 
Maurepas  came  to.  expose  our  financial  situation  in 
such  alarming  terms  that  it  seemed  that  we  had  no  re 
source  outside  of  peace,  Vergennes,  soul  of  resistance, 
wrote  to  the  King:  "Must  we  accelerate  then,  the  ten- 


148    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

dencies  of  Madrid?  Who  will  be  able  to  guarantee 
that  the  glory  of  the  King  of  France  will  not  be  com 
promised?  The  Minister  speaks  only  of  honor,  be 
cause  'the  rest  is  nothing  in  comparison.'  If  it  is 
necessary  to  take  this  stand,  I  demand  a  written  order." 
The  order  was  never  given.  With  the  view  of  conducting 
the  war  more  energetically,  on  October  I4th  new  Min 
isters,  Segur  and  Castries,  were  placed  respectively  at 
the  head  of  the  war  and  navy.  Necker — who  feared 
La  Fayette  like  the  devil — became  too  pressing  for  peace ; 
he  was  allowed  to  circulate  the  report  of  the  financial 
scandal — then  Maurepas  dismissed  him.  They  put 
6,000,000  limes  at  the  disposition  of  Washington  to 
maintain  12,000  or  15,000  men;  they  resolved  to  make 
a  great  effort  upon  the  sea,  the  operations  developing 
principally  in  the  West  Indies,  under  Admiral  de  Grasse. 
At  this  juncture  Colonel  Laurens,  on  March  iQth,  1781, 
arrived  from  America. 

The  disclosures  of  Washington  were  quickly  studied: 
"The  natural  resources  of  the  country  are  exhausted, — 
no  national  capital, — no  funds  to  buy  back  the  paper 
money, — failure  of  the  system  of  requisitions, — indiffer 
ence  of  individuals  to  hold  up  the  public  credit, — the 
army  at  the  end  of  its  resistance  both  physically  and 
morally, — the  people  ready  to  think  that  they  are  only 
exchanging  one  tyranny  for  another:  to  sum  up,  ...  a 
desperate  situation,  if  France  does  not  make  a  supreme 
effort."  Washington  asked  for  an  immediate  supply 
of  money — naval  superiority — a  reinforcement  of  15,000 
men.  At  once  the  King  gave  10,000,000  limes.  Con 
gress  had  asked  for  25,000,000.  With  the  10,000,000 
already  given,  the  expense  of  the  squadron  and  the 
expeditionary  corps,  the  royal  liberality  surpassed  the 
demand.  The  superiority  of  the  navy  is  going  to  be 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE     149 

revealed.  And  the  events  are  going  to  show  that  Ro- 
chambeau's  5,000  men,  plus  the  600  infantry  brought 
by  the  Sagittaire,  plus  the  3,500  men  brought  from  the 
West  Indies  by  De  Grasse,  will  be  sufficient  for  the 
victory. 

The  great  news  that  the  Concorde  brought  to  Rocham- 
beau,  was  that  the  order  was  given  to  Admiral  de  Grasse 
to  sail  to  Newport  in  July  or  August  and  relieve  the 
fleet  of  De  Barras. 


CHAPTER   IX 

THE    OFFENSIVE — THE    MARCH    UPON    YORKTOWN — CAM 
PAIGN  OF  LA  FAYETTE   IN   VIRGINIA — YORKTOWN 
ATTACKED   BY   SEA  AND  LAND — CAPITULATION 

Washington  still  desired  to  make  an  attack  in  the 
North,  and   Rochambeau  in  the  South.     In  spite  of 
Cfcastellux,  who  flattered  himself  that  he  had  overcome 
the  admiral's  stubbornness — great  minds  make  blunden 
sometimes — Rochambeau  would  not  yield.     On  his  re 
turn  from  the  conference  at  Weatherfield,  he  wrote  ID 
De  Grasse,  May  28th:  "Come !    America  K  in  distress. 
Bring  with  you  from  San  Domingo  the  troops  of  the 
Marquis  de  Saint-Simon;    obtain  from  the  Colonists 
1,200,000  forer,  and  bring  that  also.    With  your  assis 
tance  we  could  take  New  York;  but  it  would  be  better 
to  occupy  Charleston."     As  to  De  Barras,  he  persuaded 
him  to  disobey  the  instructions  of  the  Ministry.     Or 
dinarily,  if  the  expeditionary  corps  left  Rhode  Island, 
the  vessels  should  be  conducted  to  Boston  harbor;  a 
safer  place,  and  anchored  there;  it  was  a  hundred  miles 
by  sea  from  Newport;   but  aumliqg  to  the  ruling  of 
the  winds,  the  meeting  of  De  Barras  with  Admiral  de 
Grasse  might  be  retarded  for  a  month.     Barras  had  the 
excellent  good  spirit  to  consent  to  remain  as  near  as 
possible  to  his  jmmior.    He  made  this  noble  declaration, 
which  Rochambeau  has  recorded:   "No  one  is  more  in 
terested  than  I  in  the  arrival  of  De  Grasse  in  these  waters. 
He  was  my  junior  and  has  just  been  made  Lieutenant- 
General.     As  soon  as  I  learn  that  he  is  near,  I  shall  set 
sail  to  put  myself  under  his  orders.     I  will  make  this 

::,: 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE    151 

campaign,  but  I  shall  not  make  another/  No  one  in 
the  council  dared  to  hesitate  longer.  This  ira*r,  f**4 
«•»  had  the  soul  of  a  £•***> 

Letters  vent  astray  rather  cleverly.  It  was  already 
very  i  propos  that  Clinton  believed  Rochambeau  had 
decided  to  put  ceremony  aside  and  pay  him  a  visit  in 
New  York;  thereupon  the  text  of  the  conference  at 
WeatherfieJd  feO  into  his  hands*  and  made  him  feel  that 
much  more  tranquil  in  his  misconception.  He  knew  by 
that  how  much  Washington  repudiated  an  immediate 
expedition  in  the  South.  Then,  it  was  another  letter 
from  De  Bams  to  La  Luaerne,  announcing  to  him  the 
intention  of  conducting  the  fleet  to  Boston.  Stfll 
another  letter  from  Rochambeau  to  La  Luierne  had  the 
same  fate;  and  it  would  have  been  regretted  if  Clinton 
could  have  comprehended  this  one;  but  it  was  written  in 
cipher,  and  no  one  in  New  York  could  solve  the  enigma* 

On  June  8th  De  Lauiun  appeared  at  Newport,  coming 
from  New  Windsor:  he  brought  a  message  from  Wash 
ington.  The  following  day  orders  were  given  to  break 
up  the  camp.  On  the  loth,  at  five  o'clock  in  the  morn 
ing*  the  Bourbcnnais  brigade  embarked;  at  nine  o'clock 
in  the  evening  it  was  at  Providence.  Finding  neither 
straw  nor  wood,  through  the  kindness  of  the  town  coun 
cil  they  were  "lodged  in  big,  empty  houses."  And  on 
the  i  ith  they  were  encamped  on  the  heights  whkh  over 
looked  Providence  on  the  west;  the  same  day  the  Sob- 
sonnafa  brigade  joined  them.  To  protect  the  fleet,  Ro 
chambeau  left  at  Rhode  bland  about  1,200  militia  and 
the  larger  number  of  the  450  recruits  which  had  just 
landed  at  Boston. 

It  took  eight  days  to  secure  the  horses  for  the  artillery 
and  hospital  ambulance,  and  the  oxen  which  were  to 
carry  the  munitions*  Meanwhile,  Washington  reports 


152    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

to  Rochambeau  the  alarming  news  coming  from  Vir 
ginia:  "The  enemy  having  concentrated  his  forces,  is 
marching  across  the  State  almost  without  opposition, 
the  troops  of  the  Marquis  being  too  small  in  number  to 
accomplish  anything." — "The  English  army,  with  a 
considerable  force,  is  between  Richmond  and  Fredericks- 
burg;  its  destination  is  not  certain;  but  in  view  of  its 
superiority  it  is  at  liberty  to  go  where  it  will."  And 
Rochambeau  writes  to  De  Grasse  on  June  nth:  "I  will 
not  deceive  you,  Sir ;  these  people  are  at  the  end  of  their 
resources ;  Washington  will  not  have  half  the  troops  that 
he  counted  upon  having,  and  I  believe,  although  he  is 
silent  upon  the  subject,  that  he  has  not  6,000  men; 
that  La  Fayette  has  not  1,000  men  of  the  regular  troops 
with  the  militia  to  defend  Virginia;  about  as  many  are 
marching  to  join  him ;  that  General  Greene  has  made  an 
attack  upon  Camden  and  has  been  repulsed;  and  I  am 
ignorant  as  to  when  and  how  he  will  rejoin  La  Fayette." 
On  the  1 6th  he  writes  again:  "General  Washington 
has  but  a  handful  of  men,  which  could  possibly  reach 
to  about  7,000  or  8,000.  The  army  of  Cornwallis  is  in 
the  heart  of  Virginia,  between  Richmond  and  Fredericks- 
burg.  .  .  .  You  can  well  understand  that  under  these 
conditions  how  urgent  it  is  that  you  bring  some  troops 
with  you;  this  country  is  at  bay,  all  its  resources  are 
failing  at  the  same  time :  the  continental  paper  is  worth 
absolutely  nothing."  On  the  same  day  he  writes  a  let 
ter  to  Segur,  the  French  Minister  of  War:  "The  poor 
Marquis  de  La  Fayette,  with  his  detachment,  is  retreat 
ing  to  meet  another  detachment  of  Pennsylvania  troops 
that  General  Wayne  is  taking  to  him." 

We  are  not  as  uneasy  as  General  Rochambeau  about 
the  fate  of  Greene;  we  know  that  Camden  has  already 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE     153 

been  evacuated  by  Lord  Rawdon,  and  that  Ninety-six 
soon  will  be.  And  it  is  the  moment  to  say  that  La 
Fayette  is  making  just  as  good  a  figure  in  Virginia  as 
Greene.  If  the  truth  must  be  told,  the  marquis  went 
to  the  South  with  a  slight  feeling  of  discontentment 
because  he  was  thwarted  in  his  desires.  He  complains 
to  Hamilton  confidentially  of  being  removed  from  the 
North  just  at  the  moment  when  the  French  troops  were 
about  to  fight.  Washington,  of  course,  did  him  an  honor1 
in  sending  him  against  such  an  adversary  as  Lord  Corn- 
wallis,  and  the  future  will  console  him.  He  met  all 
difficulties  with  wonderful  good  spirits;  in  his  presence 
nobody  dared  to  be  sad.  In  the  first  place,  his  men  had 
neither  shirts  nor  shoes;  he  borrowed  on  his  own  credit, 
from  the  merchants  of  Baltimore,  2,000  pounds  sterling, 
to  buy  linen,  hats,  and  the  rest.  The  ladies  of  Balti 
more,  who  gave  a  ball  in  his  honor  as  he  was  passing 
through  the  city,  emulated  the  example  of  the  ladies  of 
Philadelphia,  and  cut  out  and  made  the  shirts.  Yet  all 
these  Northern  soldiers  that  he  was  taking  with  him 
were  prejudiced  against  the  unhealthy  Southern  climate, 
and  even  with  the  shirts  they  were  not  contented  to  go 
so  far;  they  deserted.  We  will  have  to  confess  that  La 
Fayette  hung  one  or  two,  as  an  example;  but  he  pos 
sessed  other  powers  of  persuasion  as  well;  he  bravely 
put  the  following  alternative  on  the  order  of  the  day: 
"The  expedition  will  be  difficult  and  dangerous;  but 
I  hope  that  I  will  not  be  abandoned  by  my  men;  how 
ever,  if  there  are  any  who  wish  to  go,  they  are  at  liberty 
to  do  so  at  once."  He  assures  us  that  after  this  he  had 
no  trouble;  he  did  not  have  one  deserter;  that  even  a 
petty  officer  who  had  a  sore  leg  which  kept  him  from  fol 
lowing  on  foot,  "rented  a  cart  at  his  own  expense  so  as 
not  to  be  left  behind."  In  default  of  the  hussars  of 


154    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

Lauzun  which  he  hoped  to  have  had,  he  was  given  the 
dragoons  of  the  country :  some  young  men  of  Baltimore 
who  formed  a  company  of  volunteers. 

Let  us  behold  him  now  en  route.  He  arrived  at  Rich 
mond  before  General  Philipps,  who  had  recently  brought 
reinforcements  to  the  British  from  New  York.  This 
was  April  29th;  he  had  made  200  miles  by  forced 
marches  from  Baltimore  with  1,200  regulars  and 
2,000  militia.  La  Fayette  saved  the  magazines  of 
Richmond;  the  pillage  of  them  would  have  been  fatal. 
Philipps  did  not  dare  attack  him,  and  the  marquis, 
profiting  by  the  surprise  he  gave  him,  made  a  reconnoiter 
with  cannon  upon  Petersburg,  south  of  the  James  River, 
which  served  at  the  same  time  for  the  purpose  of  pass 
ing  quietly  into  Carolina  a  convoy  of  munitions  and 
clothes  of  which  Greene  stood  much  in  need.  Philipps 
died;  Arnold  replaced  him.  La  Fayette  refused  to 
communicate  with  a  traitor.  He  could  not  have  done 
less;  however,  this  proceeding  had  a  most  happy  effect 
upon  the  morale  of  his  troops,  and  made  a  great  impres 
sion  in  America.  It  put  Arnold  in  such  a  false  position 
that  the  English  command  was  compelled  to  withdraw 
him.  But  on  May  2Oth  Cornwallis  made  his  junction 
with  the  division  at  Petersburg;  he  had  5,000  men,  and 
the  advance-guard  of  Tarleton  of  300  chasseurs,  mounted 
upon  the  best  horses  of  Virginia,  which  had  been  pro 
cured  for  them  by  the  negroes;  "like  birds  of  prey  they 
seized  everything  that  came  in  their  way."  La  Fayette 
was  "not  even  strong  enough  to  let  himself  be  beaten." 
He  did  not  have  the  command  of  the  navigable  rivers. 
He  did  a  wise  thing  when  he  abandoned  the  right  bank 
of  the  James  River  and  concentrated  his  forces  at  Rich 
mond.  The  reinforcements  of  the  800  Pennsylvanians 
were  slow  in  coming.  If  La  Fayette  had  given  battle 


SOLDIERS  AND   SAILORS  OF   FRANCE     155 

he  would  have  been  cut  to  pieces.  If  he  had  refused  a 
combat,  the  country,  "a  country  where  the  laws  were 
not  enforced,  and  the  government  without  energy," 
would  have  believed  itself  abandoned.  He,  therefore, 
resolved  to  engage  in  skirmishes,  without  getting  too 
deep  into  the  fray,  and  was  careful  to  keep  out  of  the 
reach  of  "that  Tarleton  cavalry  that  the  militia  dreaded 
as  much  as  so  many  wild  beasts."  In  this  way  he  had 
to  abandon  Richmond,  gain  the  higher  country,  so  as 
to  keep  his  communication  open  with  Philadelphia;  to 
evacuate  in  June  the  magazines  of  Fredericksburg,  and 
withdraw  as  far  as  Raccoon  Ford,  always  in  advance  of 
General  Wayne's  Pennsylvanians,  who  finally  caught  up 
with  him. 

Cornwallis  did  not  dare  to  go  too  far  into  the  country; 
he  retraced  his  steps;  at  Charlottesville,  his  dragoons 
came  near  carrying  off  the  Virginia  Assembly;  a  de 
tachment  bore  down  upon  Point  of  Fork,  where  Steuben 
was  training  700  recruits,  and  threw  into  the  river, 
cannon,  munitions,  and  all  the  food  that  they  could 
find.  La  Fayette  let  them  go;  but  as  soon  as  he  had 
the  Pennsylvanians  well  in  hand,  in  his  turn  he  quickly 
gave  chase  to  Cornwallis.  The  English  were  at  Elk 
Island,  a  march  from  the  magazines,  which  it  was  most 
important  to  save.  In  the  night  La  Fayette  made  a 
short  cut,  which  Cornwallis  did  not  know;  at  dawn  he 
found  himself  in  an  impregnable  position,  between  the 
English  commander  and  the  magazines,  "the  loss  of 
which  would  have  affected  the  whole  army  of  the 
South."  This  happened  the  middle  of  June.  Then 
Steuben  rejoined  the  marquis:  the  American  forces  were 
raised  to  5,000  men.  La  Fayette  said  to  Washington 
on  June  28th:  "No  doubt  that  they  will  exaggerate  the 
number  of  our  forces;  and  our  air  of  boldness  will  con- 


156    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

firm  the  mistake."  Richmond  was  evacuated  on  the 
20th  of  June  by  the  English ;  they  went  toward  Williams- 
burg.  Six  hundred  riflemen — mountaineers  ready  for 
anything,  fine  marksmen,  agile  as  cats — gave  still  more 
assurance  to  La  Fayette.  And  to  sum  up:  while 
Rochambeau  was  wondering  how  poor  La  Fayette  was 
going  to  draw  himself  out  of  the  claws  of  his  lordship, 
the  marquis  was  fishing  up  again  the  old  arms  and  can 
non  thrown  into  the  water  by  the  enemy;  and,  a  little 
astonished  at  the  return  of  his  good  fortune,  which  he 
modestly  welcomed,  was  saying  to  himself:  " Shall  I  go 
after  Lord  Cornwallis?" 

In  the  meantime,  on  June  i8th,  the  French  army 
left  Providence ;  the  troops  only  knew  that  they  were  to 
go  "to  the  Hudson  River"  and  there  await  orders. 
Mathieu  Dumas  received  from  the  commissary-general, 
De  BeVille,  "the  order  to  precede  the  columns  and  in 
dicate  the  camps  and  positions"  that  the  regiments 
should  successively  occupy.  ' '  The  different  commissions 
with  which  he  had  been  charged,  and  principally  those 
which  had  to  do  with  establishing  the  quarters  of  Lauzun 
in  Connecticut,  had  furnished  him  the  occasion  of  rec- 
onnoitering  the  country  and  the  principal  communica 
tions  between  Rhode  Island  and  the  North  River." 
In  the  general  rejoicing  among  the  officers,  there  was 
not  one  happier  than  Closen.  Between  Providence  and 
Boston  he  seemed  to  be  walking  along  the  road  to  para 
dise.  The  route  all  the  way  was  bordered  with  acacias 
in  full  bloom,  whose  delicate  fragrance  embalmed  the 
air.  He  climbed  the  belfries  to  enjoy  the  harmonious 
beauty  of  the  scene.  At  the  bivouacs  the  inhabitants 
arrived  in  crowds;  they  adored  the  military  music; 
the  French  officers  and  soldiers  danced  with  the  American 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE    157 

girls;  this  was  a  fete  of  equality,  "the  first  fruits  of  the 
Alliance." 

The  heat  was  intense;  they  could  only  march  at  night; 
the  roads  were  often  deep  with  mud  and  almost  impassa 
ble;  it  was  hard  work  to  drag  through  this  mire  the 
heavy  field-artillery,  commissary-wagons,  and  carts 
carrying  the  flatboats  for  the  passage  of  the  rivers. 
Poor  Abb£  Robin,  humiliated  perhaps  by  these  duties, 
dared  to  say  that  such  a  struggle  and  the  fatigue  of  it 
was  beyond  all  human  endurance.  "For  lack  of  ink 
I  often  write  with  the  juice  of  a  plant.  ...  At  two 
o'clock  in  the  morning  the  noisy  roll  of  the  drum  orders 
me  to  arise  from  my  humble  bed  of  straw.  .  .  .  Ex 
tended  in  the  dust,  panting  with  thirst,  I  feel  a  desire, 
like  the  rich  man,  that  a  Lazarus  would  put  his  finger  in 
water  and  quench  my  parched  tongue.  .  .  .  Our  young 
commanders,  reared  in  comfort  and  luxury,  support  this 
fatigue  with  a  courage  that  makes  me  blush  for  my 
weakness.  .  .  .  They  encourage  the  soldiers  by  march 
ing  at  their  head."  The  Viscount  de  Noailles  set  the 
example;  the  Americans  considered  his  greatest  title 
that  of  being  brother-in-law  to  the  marquis;  it  was  a 
much  sought  distinction  to  dance  with  him. 

After  leaving  Newtown,  where  the  army  was  en 
camped  on  June  27th,  they  entered  the  zone  of  danger; 
Rochambeau  detached  an  advance-guard.  During  the 
night  of  June  3Oth  he  received  a  courier  from  Washing 
ton  which  hastened  his  departure;  on  July  2d,  by  doub 
ling  the  march,  they  were  at  Bedford ;  and  this  same  day 
the  legion  of  Lauzun,  just  relieved  from  advance-guard 
duty,  departed  with  the  dragoons  of  Sheldon,  to  go,  it 
was  said,  "in  the  pursuit  of  400  Tories  who  had  taken 
away  their  cattle."  Deux- Fonts  believed  it,  but  the 
affair  was  more  serious. 


158    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

Washington,  informed  that  the  enemy  had  scattered 
his  forces,  "that  he  had  even  sent  a  tolerably  large  de 
tachment  into  the  Jerseys,"  thought  that  he  could  take 
Fort  Washington  by  surprise,  with  the  hope,  no  doubt, 
that  once  master  of  this  key  of  the  fortifications  of  New 
York,  he  could  take  the  city.  For  this  reason  he  had 
asked  for  Lauzun.  The  duke  made  grave  complaints 
in  his  Memoires  of  General  Lincoln,  with  whom  he  had 
to  operate.  Instead  of  surprising  the  enemy  post  as 
he  desired,  the  Americans  amused  themselves  by  firing 
off  their  guns  and  giving  the  alarm,  so  as  to  provoke 
the  English  to  a  sortie,  of  which  he  was  sure  in  the  end 
that  Lincoln  could  not  withstand.  Lincoln  had  to  fall 
back  covered  by  Lauzun.  We  can  easily  see  how  this 
proceeding  must  have  "annoyed"  the  Frenchmen. 
Washington  welcomed  Lincoln,  beaten  although  not  sub 
dued;  he  also  showed  the  greatest  joy  at  seeing  Lauzun 
again,  and  in  his  order  of  the  day  "eulogized  his  division 
in  the  most  flattering  manner.  ..." 

Washington's  army  was  already  encamped  upon  a 
fixed  point  for  the  junction;  he  went  to  see  the  French 
army  at  North  Castle  on  July  5th;  the  following  day, 
"after  a  long  tiresome  march,  through  intense  heat,"  the 
French  troops  "joined  the  American  Army  at  Camp 
Philippsburg,  three  miles  from  King's  Bridge,  the  first 
post  of  the  enemy  on  the  Island  of  New  York."  Deux- 
Ponts  gives  details:  "The  right  of  the  two  armies 
(French  and  American)  was  placed  upon  a  perpendicular 
cliff  protected  by  a  valley  which  it  dominated;  in  the 
center  was  a  narrow  ravine  through  which  ran  a  small 
stream;  this  ravine  which  separated  the  French  from 
the  Americans,  had  very  steep  sides.  The  left  was 
stationed  near  another  stream,  by  the  Bronx  River 
upon  which  we  had  out-posts.  The  front  was  protected 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE     159 

by  a  woods,  and  there  was  nothing  to  fear  from  the 
back;  the  Lauzun  Legion  encamped  at  White  Plains 
four  miles  to  our  left,  made  this  position  secure ;  all  the 
avenues  imaginable  were  covered  by  advance  posts. " 

Washington  was  contented.  Rochambeau  was  able 
to  tell  him  that  the  French  "had  crossed  Connecticut 
without  any  complaints  being  made  of  them;  on  the 
contrary,  the  people  received  them  with  their  blessings." 
He  wrote  to  Barras  from  White  Plains,  on  July  8th: 
"We  have  made  the  most  rapid  march  .  .  .  without  any 
dissatisfaction,  without  leaving  a  man  behind  us,  ex 
cept  ten  love-sick  soldiers  from  the  regiment  of  Soisson- 
nais,  who  wanted  to  return  to  see  their  sweet  hearts  at 
Newport,  and  for  whom  I  am  going  to  send.  .  .  .  Our 
junction  was  made  with  great  acclamations  on  the  part 
of  the  Americans."  And  in  a  letter  to  Segur  he  said: 
"We  have  made  220  miles  in  eleven  days  march.  There 
are  not  four  provinces  in  the  Kingdom  of  France,  where 
we  could  have  traveled  with  as  much  order  and  economy, 
and  without  wanting  for  anything." 

And  the  result  of  this  junction  was  that  Clinton  could 
not  embark  his  troops,  as  he  had  hoped  to  do,  de 
scend  into  Chesapeake  Bay,  and  through  Maryland, 
Pennsylvania,  and  the  Jerseys,  turn  upon  Washington, 
reduce  him  to  the  defensive  upon  the  east  side  of  the 
Hudson,  and  cut  the  communications  between  the  North 
and  the  South. 

Camp  life  was  very  pleasant ;  let  us  hear  what  Mathieu 
Dumas  says  about  it.  This  seems  to  me  to  be  an  ex 
ample  of  a  very  dignified,  serious  pleasure:  "My  friend 
Charles  de  Lameth,  the  two  brothers  Berthier,  recently 
arrived  from  France  (as  we  also  recall  it),  and  added 
to  our  staff  officers,  and  I  have  established  our  bivouac 
near  the  General  Headquarters  of  our  Commander,  De 


160    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

B6ville,  in  a  most  agreeable  position  among  some  rocks, 
and  under  magnificent  tulip  trees.  We  have  amused 
ourselves  by  ornamenting  the  little  space  where  our  gun 
carriages  are  lined  up,  and  in  a  short  time  have  made  a 
very  pretty  garden.  General  Washington  making  a 
tour  of  inspection  wished  to  see  us.  We  were  notified 
of  his  visit  in  time,  and  he  found  upon  our  field  tables 
the  plan  of  the  Battle  of  Trenton,  with  its  counterpart 
that  of  West  Point,  and  some  of  the  other  principal 
actions  of  this  War." 

The  army  remained  in  camp  until  the  iQth  of  August, 
but  not  without  some  very  lively  distractions.  On 
July  1 5th  a  small  English  flotilla,  going  up  the  Hudson, 
tried  to  burn  some  American  ships  laden  with  flour; 
they  succeeded  only  in  seizing  a  cargo  of  bread ;  for  four 
days  it  was  necessary  to  reduce  the  rations  of  the  French 
soldier  to  four  ounces;  "however,  he  was  given  rice  and 
additional  meat."  On  the  i6th  Washington  asked  for 
two  pieces  of  artillery  of  twelve-pound  cannon  and  two 
howitzers.  Deux- Fonts  mounted  them  on  a  battery; 
the  gunners  were  not  accustomed  to  shoot  over  the  water, 
and  few  shots  reached  the  frigates  of  the  enemy.  But  on 
the  1 9th,  as  the  English  were  redescending  the  Hudson, 
upon  passing  Dobb's  Ferry,  they  were  saluted  by  two 
howitzers;  one  ship  was  set  on  fire;  twenty  men  threw 
themselves  into  the  water.  "I  did  not  think,"  wrote 
Rochambeau  to  Barras,  "that  they  would  come  to 
look  for  fresh  bread  so  soon."  It  was  a  Captain  Verton 
who  commanded  the  battery  that  made  such  a  good  shot. 

It  was  toward  the  middle  of  July  also  that  Rocham 
beau  gave  orders  to  Mathieu  Dumas  to  push  the  recon- 
noitering  as  far  as  possible — to  the  end  of  the  island, 
in  sight  of  the  enemy's  first  redoubts.  This  kind  of 
operation  had  for  object  the  taking  of  detailed  observa- 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE    161 

tion  of  all  the  works  of  the  fortifications  around  New 
York  and  the  adjacent  islands.  Several  reconnoiters 
had  already  been  made;  but  this  last  one  was  to  be 
more  aggressive.  The  French  forced  back  some  small 
Hessian  posts,  and  arriving  to  within  rifle  range  of  the 
forts,  met  an  American  detachment  that  had  been 
exploring  the  other  side.  Dumas  modestly  ascribed 
his  success  to  the  enterprise  of  Sub-lieutenant  Kill- 
maine  (who  afterward  became  a  brilliant  cavalry  gen 
eral)  commanding  a  detachment  of  lancers  from  the 
Lauzun  Legion. 

A  few  days  afterward,  on  the  2ist,  was  developed  to 
its  fullest  extent  the  reconnaissance  that  the  recon- 
noitering  party  had  prepared.  Under  the  command  of 
Chastellux  and  Lincoln,  5,000  men  set  out  on  the  march, 
some  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening,  others  at  midnight, 
clearing  the  land,  for  an  average  width  of  three  miles, 
that  extended  into  a  point  between  the  east  bank  of  the 
Hudson  and  Long  Island  Sound.  It  was  held  princi 
pally  by  American  loyalists.  All  those  who  could  not 
find  boats  to  go  back  to  the  island  were  attacked  by  the 
hussars  of  Lauzun  and  the  dragoons  of  escort  of  the  gen 
erals,  and  either  killed  or  taken  prisoners.  Washington 
and  Rochambeau,  overcome  by  fatigue,  went  to  sleep 
under  a  hedge,  within  fire  of  the  cannon  from  the 
enemy's  ships.  The  English  were  trying  to  prevent 
the  Americans  and  French  from  going  on  with  their 
work.  "I  awakened  first,"  relates  Rochambeau,  "and 
calling  General  Washington,  I  remarked  that  we  had 
forgotten  about  the  time  of  the  tide.  We  went  quickly 
to  the  mill  road,  upon  which  we  had  crossed  the  narrow 
arm  of  the  sea  that  separated  us  from  the  main  land, 
and  found  it  covered  with  water.  We  were  therefore 
on  an  island.  They  brought  us  two  small  boats  in  which 


162    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

we  embarked,  carrying  with  us  the  saddles  and  harness 
of  the  horses.  Then  followed  a  boat  with  two  American 
dragoons  pulling  two  horses  by  the  bridle  that  were 
good  swimmers;  the  other  horses  came  after  them  ex 
cited  by  the  lash  of  the  whip  in  the  hands  of  some  dra 
goons  near  the  edge  of  the  water.  Happily  our  little 
manoeuvre  was  not  discovered  by  the  enemy;  it  was  all 
over  in  an  hour.  Such  was  the  American  way  of  doing 
things. "  Elsewhere,  on  the  Morrisania  side,  the  legion 
of  Lauzun  and  an  American  battalion  sustained,  in  very 
close  quarters,  a  lively  enough  fire  from  both  the  artil 
lery  and  infantry  of  the  enemy.  Count  de  Damas  had 
a  horse  killed  under  him. 

On  the  return  from  this  reconnaissance,  in  the  evening 
of  the  23d  or  24th  of  July,  the  generals  found  news  from 
the  South :  Cornwallis  was  beating  a  retreat,  La  Fayette 
was  "following  him  cautiously."  In  a  letter  of  July 
8th  he  confided  to  Washington  that  he  continued  to 
keep  the  secret  of  the  real  weakness  of  his  forces:  "Our 
forces  as  well  as  the  militia  are  exaggerated  .  .  .  and 
in  order  to  hide  to  what  extent  there  are  so  few  of  us, 
I  am  obliged  to  go  in  advance,  as  if  I  expected  a  general 
engagement."  General  Wayne,  "brave  but  impetuous," 
did  not  enter  willingly  into  the  idea  of  this  strategy;  he 
was  overelated  at  his  success  of  an  attack  upon  the 
rearguard  of  Cornwallis.  In  a  second  attempt  he  came 
near  having  a  serious  engagement,  and  he  lost  his  can 
non:  La  Fayette  saved  him.  His  lordship  finally  shut 
himself  up  in  Portsmouth,  and  the  marquis  took  good 
care  not  to  go  there  to  seek  him.  He  preferred  to  take  a 
more  healthy  position  upon  Malvern  Hill,  and  let  his 
army  rest,  while  he  kept  an  eye  on  his  enemy.  It  is 
only  by  the  letters  of  the  marquis  of  the  6th  and  2ist  of 


SOLDIERS  AND   SAILORS  OF   FRANCE     163 

August  that  Washington  was  advised  of  the  new  move 
ments  of  Cornwallis  toward  Yorktown.  Rochambeau 
could  not  have  known  anything  on  July  23d,  and  for  a 
very  good  reason,  in  spite  of  what  his  Memoires  lead  us 
to  believe.  But  let  us  do  as  he  did :  anticipate  a  month. 
How  happy  La  Fayette  is  going  to  be  in  August !  And 
how  proud,  modestly  proud  !  Later,  when  he  writes  his 
Commentaires ,  he  will  come  to  persuade  himself  that 
he  it  was  who  had  pushed  his  redoubtable  enemy  toward 
the  sea,  and  that  his  principal  object  had  been  "to 
force  him  between  the  rivers  in  such  a  way  that  he 
would  have  no  means  of  retreat."  But  he  had  not 
premeditated  that  much.  La  Fayette  did  not  ma 
noeuvre  Cornwallis.  However,  in  following  the  inspira 
tion  of  prudence,  tempered  by  audacity  at  the  right 
moment,  dogging  his  enemy's  footsteps,  at  last  he  found 
the  means  to  gain  the  superiority  over  him.  "As  if  by 
enchantment,"  yes,  in  very  truth,  "by  enchantment," 
Cornwallis  was  to  be  blocked  by  sea  and  land.  As 
La  Fayette  grew  older,  it  appears  to  me  that  he  forgot 
himself  a  little,  by  posing.  He  did  not  think  of  it— 
and  he  was  simply  and  gently  heroic — when  he  wrote 
those  pretty  letters  to  Washington,  where  we  see  him 
apply  himself  conscientiously  to  profit  by  the  marvelous 
circumstance,  to  comprehend  it,  astonished  at  his  good 
fortune,  trembling  for  fear  that  he  might  lose  it,  as  if  he 
did  not  think  himself  entirely  worthy;  but  he  was,  as 
the  execution  of  it  will  demonstrate.  His  letter  to  his 
wife  on  August  24th  is  charmingly  free  from  all  boasting. 
He  cannot  resist  writing  to  Vergennes  at  the  same  time : 
"When  you  have  Cornwallis  ahead  of  you,  Monsieur 
le  Comte,  and  when  you  are  running  after  him  through 
the  sands  of  Virginia.  ..."  And  then  he  says  in  an 
other  letter,  one  to  Maurepas:  "By  your  interest  in 


164    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

me  you  would  be  alarmed  at  the  role  which  they  have 
given  my  youth.  Five  hundred  miles  from  any  other 
troops,  they  have  wished  to  oppose  me  to  the  fortunes  of 
Lord  Cornwallis.  .  .  ."  And  he  returned  to  his  ac 
tivities  without  being  too  hopeful  of  the  result.  "While 
the  enemy  is  establishing  himself  permanently  at  York- 
town  and  Gloucester,  upon  the  two  opposite  banks  of 
the  James  River,  protecting  a  good  anchoring  place  by 
his  cross  fires,"  explains  Dumas,  "La  Fayette  encamps 
at  Williamsburg,  between  the  James  and  York  Rivers,  a 
march  from  Yorktown." 

Now  since  August  2d  Rochambeau  has  had  the  re 
sponse  from  Admiral  de  Grasse.  Very  bold  and 
enterprising — he  was  called  the  French  Rodney — De 
Grasse,  who  was  sixty  years  old  in  1781,  did  not  seem  to 
have  the  power  of  making  himself  beloved.  Trading 
D'Estaing  carried  on  openly,  while  he  was  accused  of 
having  a  contempt  "for  the  low  interests  of  a  common 
tradesman. "  The  officers  reproached  him  for  haughti 
ness  in  the  command.  They  even  blamed  him  for  his 
unusual  corpulence.  "Flanked  with  flesh,  a  gabion  of 
fat — in  a  word,  nature  and  art,  in  walling  up  the  ram 
parts  of  his  soul,  thought  more  of  the  sheath  than  the 
sword."  All  of  this  has  influenced  many  historians 
who,  consequently,  have  not  done  him  full  justice.  For 
us,  he  is  simply  the  commander  who,  with  Rochambeau, 
made  the  taking  of  Yorktown  possible.  He  had  just 
taken  Tabago,  and  had  collected  a  convoy  of  200  sails 
ladened  with  booty,  and  anchored  off  Cape  Fran9ais, 
at  San  Domingo,  when  he  received,  on  July  i6th,  the 
dispatches  from  Rochambeau  and  De  la  Luzerne.  De 
Grasse  did  not  lose  a  moment :  the  colonists  of  the  island 
refused  to  advance  the  1,200,000  limes;  he  offered  to 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE     165 

guarantee  his  own  colonial  possessions.  The  Spanish 
Commissioner  and  Admiral  de  Solano,  however,  were 
pricked  with  a  sense  of  honor,  and  went  off  and  made 
up  the  adequate  sum  in  Havana.  He  took  on  board 
the  regiment  of  Saint-Simon,  departed  the  8th  of 
August,  and,  taking  an  unaccustomed  route  through 
the  Bahama  Straits,  he  baffled  the  English,  and  ar 
rived  August  28th  in  Chesapeake  Bay.  We  will  see 
that  he  is  not  the  only  one  at  the  rendezvous. 

On  the  I  Qth  the  army  of  Rochambeau  set  out  on  the 
march,  without  knowing  its  destination.  Deux-Ponts 
was  lost  in  conjectures;  the  general  pretended  he  was 
going  to  make  an  attack  upon  New  York.  A  downpour 
of  rain  left  the  roads  in  a  frightful  condition;  wagons 
were  broken ;  for  troops  that  did  not  understand  this  kind 
of  work,  it  was  very  hard  to  endure.  In  three  retrograde 
marches,  the  French  corps  reached  King's  Ferry,  whence 
they  passed  the  Hudson;  then  redescended,  and  going 
along  the  west  bank  moved  in  sight  of  Staten  Island, 
before  Chatham;  there,  in  order  to  better  deceive  the 
enemy,  De  Villemanzy,  Commissary  of  War,  established 
some  bread-ovens,  and  simulated  getting  ready  to  pro 
vision  the  army;  upon  this,  Rochambeau  made  a  quick 
turn  to  the  right,  and  went  through  the  Jerseys  up  to 
the  Delaware,  where  he  passed  the  Ford  of  Trenton  on 
the  1st  and  2d  of  December.  Since  the  27th  of  August 
Deux-Ponts  knew,  "under  the  greatest  secrecy,  from  one 
of  his  well-informed  friends"  (Fersen,  perhaps),  "that 
the  object  of  these  marches  "  was  Virginia.  The  crossing 
of  the  Jerseys  had  been  a  fete  for  Closen;  it  was  called 
the  garden-spot  of  America ;  he  translated  it  pays  de  Co- 
cagne.  He  had  the  pleasure  of  hearing  from  the  lips 
of  Washington,  and  upon  these  very  battle-fields,  the 
positions  taken  in  the  battles  of  Princeton  and  Trenton. 


1 66    SOLDIERS  AND   SAILORS  OF   FRANCE 

On  the  3d,  in  Philadelphia,  Deux-Ponts  was  in  a  bad 
humor.  "Congress  came  across  our  path,  and  we  gave 
it  all  the  honors  that  the  King  ordered ;  thirteen  members 
took  off  their  thirteen  hats  at  each  salute  of  the  flag, 
and  salute  of  an  officer,  and  this  was  all  that  I  saw  that 
was  civil  and  noteworthy."  Our  Abbe  Robin,  however, 
had  his  eyes  opened  wider:  "The  arrival  of  the  French 
at  Philadelphia  resembled  more  of  a  triumph  than  a  sim 
ple  passage  through  the  city.  .  .  .  The  streets  were 
crowded  with  people,  and  the  ladies  elegantly  dressed. 
All  Philadelphia  was  astonished  to  see  travelers  so  fresh 
and  clean.  Such  good-looking  Frenchmen  !  They  said: 
'We  thought  you  were  all  pygmies.'  The  French  troops 
defiled  before  Congress,  and  their  Minister  Plenipoten 
tiary,  and  camped  on  a  vast  field,  watered  by  the 
Schuylkill.  The  next  day,  the  Soissonnais  Regiment  had 
manoeuvres;  20,000  persons  at  least,  and  many  fine 
carriages  remarkable  for  their  elegance  and  lightness, 
embellished  this  scene,  while  the  pleasant  situation  and 
serenity  of  the  day  added  still  more.  The  rapidity  of 
the  evolution  of  the  troops,  their  perfect  unison,  their 
precision,  astonished  the  spectators  and  made  them  most 
enthusiastic;  their  interest  increased  upon  seeing  among 
the  officers  'the  Ally1;  the  friend  of  the  young  hero  to 
whom  they  owed  so  much  (this  was  the  Viscount  de 
Noailles).  .  .  .  We  were  amused  at  the  mistake  of  the 
people,  who  took  for  a  general  one  of  those  men  that 
our  great  nobles  often  have  in  their  suite  to  carry  mes 
sages.  His  short  doublet,  his  rich  tunic  fringed  with 
silver,  his  rose  colored  shoes,  his  cap  with  its  armorial 
device,  his  cane  with  a  large  knob  at  the  end,  appeared 
to  them  so  many  signs  of  a  high  dignitary.  The  Presi 
dent  of  Congress  honored  the  occasion  with  his  presence, 
in  a  fine  coat  of  black  velvet." 


SOLDIERS  AND   SAILORS   OF   FRANCE     167 

In  the  midst  of  a  dinner  given  by  La  Luzerne  a  mes 
sage  was  received  from  Admiral  de  Grasse  which  an 
nounced  his  presence  in  the  Chesapeake.  The  abbe 
also  saw  the  great  delight  of  the  populace  when  they  were 
informed  of  it.  "Some  fun-makers  mounted  upon  saw- 
horses  pronounced  the  funeral  oration  of  Cornwallis, 
and  pretended  to  lament  over  the  distress  of  the  Tories. 
The  people  gathered  in  crowds  before  the  house  of  the 
Minister  of  France;  they  saluted  him  with  cries  of  Vive 
le  Roi"  And  suddenly  Deux-Ponts's  frown  disappears. 
No  one  tells  better  than  he,  about  the  joy  of  General 
Washington:  "The  expression  of  his  whole  face,  his 
bearing  changed  in  a  trice;  he  forgot,  for  the  moment, 
his  position  as  arbiter  of  North  America,  and  became  an 
ordinary  citizen  overjoyed  at  the  good  fortune  of  his 
country ;  a  child  who  had  had  all  of  his  wishes  gratified 
could  not  have  been  happier.'*  When  Rochambeau, 
leaving  Philadelphia  on  the  5th,  rejoined  his  army  by 
way  of  boat  to  Chester,  he  perceived  Washington  on  the 
bank  of  the  river  waving  his  handkerchief.  "Hardly 
had  Rochambeau  landed,"  Closen  tells  us,  "when 
Washington,  usually  so  perfectly  composed  and  wrapped 
in  deep  gravity,  threw  himself  into  his  arms."  All  his 
troubles  were  forgotten.  And  yet  the  American  troops 
under  the  command  of  Lincoln,  nearly  all  originally 
from  the  East,  had  manifested  in  Philadelphia  their 
discontentment  at  being  sent  to  the  South.  Morris, 
the  Comptroller  of  Finances,  had  not  been  able  to  ad 
vance  them  a  month 's  pay.  There  remained  100,000 
crowns  in  the  French  coffer;  it  was  divided  between  the 
two  armies. 

"Come  quick,  General,"  wrote  Du  Portail  to  Rocham 
beau.  The  two  generals  arrived  September  7th,  1781, 
at  the  Head-of-Elk,  "the  source"  as  Deux-Ponts  said, 


1 68    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

"of  Chesapeake  Bay."  They  found  there  Saint-Cesare, 
captain  of  the  admiral's  ship  (De  Grasse).  But  what  this 
officer  could  not  know  was  that  on  September  5th  the 
squadron  of  Admiral  Graves  having  appeared  off  the 
Capes  of  Charles  and  Henry,  De  Grasse,  whom  Barras, 
leaving  Newport  on  the  25th  of  August,  had  not  yet 
joined,  cut  his  cables  and  set  sail  immediately;  and  in 
less  than  an  hour,  in  spite  of  the  absence  of  90  officers 
and  1, 800  men  employed  in  landing  the  troops,  he  was 
under  sail  and  formed  in  line  of  battle.  The  combat 
lasted  from  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  into  the  night ; 
the  action  fell  upon  the  vanguard  of  the  ships,  of  which 
the  honor  was  due,  principally,  to  Bougainville.  The 
five  ships  of  the  English  vanguard,  commanded  by  Sir 
Samuel  Howe,  were  badly  treated ;  one  of  them  burned. 
The  chase  was  discontinued  on  the  7th,  and  De  Grasse, 
as  he  re-entered  Chesapeake  Bay,  had  the  pleasure 
of  finding  Barras  there,  who,  with  his  eight  vessels,  four 
frigates,  and  eighteen  transports,  brought  the  siege 
artillery  and  the  detachment  of  De  Choisy.  All  went 
well,  so  well,  in  fact,  that  from  time  to  time,  if  one  can 
believe  the  Memoires  of  La  Fayette,  the  admiral  urged 
the  marquis  to  raise  the  siege  of  Yorktown  without  wait 
ing  for  Rochambeau.  It  is  true  that  the  Correspondance 
does  not  mention  this;  what  it  says  upon  the  subject  is 
entirely  contradictory:  "  It  would  be  folly  to  attack  with 
only  the  forces  that  we  have  now.  The  Marquis  de 
Saint-Simon,  the  Count  de  Grasse  and  General  du  Por- 
tail  are  of  my  opinion." 

The  generals,  making  sixty  miles  a  day,  were  at  Wil- 
liamsburg  on  the  I4th.  Chastellux  and  Choisy  arrived 
the  next  day.  But  the  troops  did  not  go  so  fast.  At  the 
Head-of-Elk  there  was  only  shelter  enough  for  1,200 
men.  The  vanguard  alone  embarked;  Custine  com- 


SOLDIERS  AND   SAILORS  OF  FRANCE     169 

manded  the  French  elements:  the  grenadiers  of  Sois- 
sonnais  with  Noailles,  the  grenadiers  of  Bourbonnais 
with  the  Viscount  de  Rochambeau,  and  the  infantry 
and  legion  under  Lauzun.  The  descent  of  the  Chesa 
peake  was  difficult,  and  this  first  detachment,  which  set 
sail  on  the  9th,  did  not  enter  the  James  River  until  the 
1 9th. 

As  for  the  major  part  of  the  army,  it  was  first  detained 
on  the  left  bank  of  the  Susquehanna.  A  few  flatboats 
were  hardly  sufficient  for  the  slow  transport  of  the  men. 
Mathieu  Dumas,  who  was  charged  with  directing  the 
passage,  went  for  information,  and  learned  from  the  peo 
ple  of  the  country  that  this  wide  river  "was  fordable  in 
the  good  season  a  little  below  the  Falls,  about  twenty 
miles  from  its  mouth."  Over  bad  roads  he  went  to  the 
place,  and  sounded  the  ford,  upon  a  width  of  six  or  seven 
hundred  toises,  amid  the  broken  rocks  "and  boiling 
torrent;  the  bottom  everywhere  was  moving  pebbles, 
but  it  was  not  washing  away,  and  the  depth  of  the  water 
was  from  three  to  four  feet.  I  did  not  hesitate  an  in 
stant  to  indicate  to  the  generals  this  prompt  way  of 
crossing,  although  a  little  dangerous  for  passing  over  the 
artillery,  the  horses  and  all  our  impediments.11  There 
were  some  losses  and  the  munitions  were  submerged; 
but  all  of  this  was  reparable. 

At  Baltimore,  on  September  I3th,  Viomesnil  charged 
Deux- Fonts  and  Laval-Montmorency  to  try  and  em 
bark  the  troops.  It  was  judged  impossible  to  put  these 
troops  on  the  mean  small  boats,  not  suitable  for  the 
purpose,  and  "expose  them  to  the  torture  of  an  uncom 
fortable,  cramped  position."  They  decided  to  go  by 
land.  On  the  i6th,  however,  a  letter  came  from  De 
la  Villebrune,  commander  of  the  Romulus,  who  was  at 
Annapolis  with  the  transports  coming  from  Rhode  Isl- 


i;o    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

and,  two  frigates  and  some  small  boats  captured  by 
Admiral  de  Grasse.  The  troops  then  set  out  on  the 
march  for  Annapolis.  All  the  war  material  was  em 
barked  on  the  iQth  and  the  20th,  the  troops  on  the  2ist, 
and  the  Gentille,  the  Diligente,  the  Aigrette,  the  7m,  in 
all,  fifteen  sails,  bore  the  Allies,  "by  a  fresh  wind  which 
kept  up  all  the  way,"  to  Hogs  Ferry,  where  they  landed 
on  the  24th.  The  ascent  of  the  James  River  with  sound 
ing-line  in  hand  was,  as  usual,  very  difficult,  and  more 
than  one  boat  went  down.  Upon  the  Diligente  Deux- 
Ponts  found  Lord  Rawdon  and  two  other  English  officers 
as  prisoners.  On  the  26th  they  encamped  at  Williams- 
burg.  On  the  28th  the  combined  army  set  out  on  the 
march  to  go  into  camp  around  Yorktown.  They  began 
a  siege  of  three  weeks. 

Meanwhile,  Cornwallis  strongly  intrenched  himself, 
since  he  had  given  up  the  hope  of  escape  through  North 
Carolina.  Had  he  known  that  La  Fayette  had  been 
prevented  from  following  him  for  lack  of  boats  to  trans 
port  his  army  from  one  side  of  the  James  River  to  the 
other,  he  would  probably  have  attempted  the  evasion. 
In  his  way  the  marquis  played  him  a  trick,  and  we  must 
recall  it,  in  order  to  do  him  honor,  and  also  to  give  praise 
to  his  accomplice,  the  soldier  Morgan.  He  was  a  brave 
man  who  for  the  good  of  his  country  resigned  himself 
to  feigning  desertion.  It  was  not  to  his  taste;  if  he 
should  die,  for  example,  under  the  uniform  of  an  English 
soldier,  would  it  ever  be  known  why  he  put  it  on  ?  What 
a  disgrace  to  his  name  !  La  Fayette  promised  that  if  he 
should  have  bad  luck,  the  truth  would  be  published, 
down  there  in  the  little  village  where  he  was  known,  by 
the  journals  of  New  Jersey.  Morgan  consented;  he 
played  the  deserter;  and  one  day  Cornwallis  asked  him 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE     171 

if  La  Fayette  had  many  boats.  "I  should  say  so !"  he 
exclaimed  innocently,  "as  many  as  he  needs  to  cross  the 
river."  History  relates  that  his  lordship  did  not  ques 
tion  him  further.  As  to  the  brave  Morgan,  he  returned 
to  the  American  camp,  and  when  the  marquis  wished  to 
make  him  a  sergeant,  he  refused  because  he  did  not 
think  he  knew  enough.  And  how  about  money,  then? 
No ;  but  during  his  absence  some  one  had  taken  his  gun ; 
he  would  like  to  find  it.  The  gun  was  found  for  him ; 
he  never  suspected  that  he  had  acted  like  a  hero  of 
antiquity. 

Admiral  de  Grasse  gave  Washington  the  alarm  again ; 
he  had,  learned  that  Admiral  Digby  was  replacing  Graves, 
and  he  expected  an  attack ;  he  gave  notice  to  the  generals 
of  his  resolution  to  go  out  to  sea  and  meet  the  naval 
forces  of  the  enemy.  Washington  begged  him  not  to 
do  it;  La  Fayette  supported  the  reasons  of  his  com- 
mander-in-chief.  If  the  French  fleet  should  go  away, 
Cornwallis  could  abandon  his  artillery,  his  baggage 
even,  and  his  sick,  and  escape  them.  The  admiral 
yielded  and  sacrificed  a  glorious  plan  in  order  to  stand 
by  one  that  was  more  certain.  And  then,  after  all, 
Digby  did  not  appear.  On  the  27th  of  September 
Washington  felt  reassured. 

And  yet  he  had  other  annoyances  with  which  to  con 
tend.  The  country  was  bare  of  everything;  the  mili 
tary  stores  had  not  arrived,  and  they  were  out  of  food. 
La  Fayette  himself  did  not  disdain  the  calling  of  "quar 
termaster  and  collector,"  at  the  risk  of  bursting  his  head. 
And  then  they  began  to  draw  supplies  from  the  fleet: 
once  De  Villebrune  gave  them  some  of  his  flour;  the 
admiral  consented,  but  he  complained  that  he  was 
skinned  alive,  that  they  would  reduce  him  to  a  state  of 
starvation.  "  Rochambeau  did  not  leave  him  anything," 


172    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

he  said.  He  did  not  have  any  fire- wood,  or  fresh  water, 
or  fresh  provisions;  his  row-boats,  used  for  carrying 
freight,  were  nearly  all  put  out  of  commission,  "because 
of  the  heavy  seas  that  beat  them  at  their  moorings,  and 
because  they  were  obliged  to  run  aground  on  the  coast." 
The  army  stole  everything  he  had;  finally,  he  became 
angry,  and  sharply  refused  thirty  pounds  of  candles 
for  the  artillery:  "Damn  it!  You  have  stretched  the 
blanket  a  little  too  tight!*'  Writing  to  Rochambeau 
a  few  days  later,  he  excused  his  bad  humor  thus:  "I 
am  a  Prove^al  and  a  sailor,  which  is.  enough  to  entitle 
me  to  a  quick  temper,  and  I  acknowledge  my  fault  and 
trust  in  your  friendship/'  Another  time,  Washington 
asked  him  for  800  sailors,  to  reinforce  the  posts  around 
Gloucester,  held  by  the  Lauzun  Legion  and  the  militia 
of  Virginia  under  General  Weedon.  De  Choisy  was 
charged  with  the  mission.  The  admiral  gave  up  his 
sailors,  but  he  protested  that  they  would  ruin  him  in  men. 
At  other  times  he  was  anxious  to  move  on ;  he  reminded 
them  continually  that  he  could  not  remain  longer  than 
October  3ist;  and  then  he  would  predict  all  kinds  of 
misfortunes.  He  saw  Cornwallis  overpowering  De 
Choisy,  cutting  his  way  out,  crossing  the  York  River 
to  go  back  to  the  North.  Rochambeau  coolly  warded 
off  these  mournful  prognostications:  "Our  operations, 
my  dear  Count,  are  always  well  calculated." 

Their  operations  were  in  fact  calculated  with  extreme 
precision,  and  everything  was  carried  out  as  the  generals 
had  planned.  We  had  about  12,000  men:  4,000  in 
the  corps  of  Rochambeau,  3,000  with  Saint-Simon,  2,000 
with  Washington,  nearly  as  many  as  that  with  La 
Fayette,  and  800  sailors.  The  besieged  had  about  8,000. 
On  September  28th,  at  break  of  day,  Rochambeau  left 
Williamsburg  and  moved  on  Yorktown;  the  investment 


SOLDIERS  AND   SAILORS  OF  FRANCE     173 

began  "  from  the  head  of  the  York  River  to  the  marshes; 
they  took  advantage  of  the  woods,  clumps  of  trees  and 
the  marshy  creeks,  drawing  closer  and  closer  to  the 
enemy  until  they  were  within  pistol  range  of  his  forti 
fications";  the  three  French  brigades  on  the  open  field 
were  shielded  by  cannon.  On  the  29th  Washington, 
after  having  repaired  the  broken  bridges,  crossed  the 
swamp  and  stationed  his  left  there,  and  then  placed  his 
right  column  on  the  York  River.  The  investment 
was  "complete  and  pressed  as  close  as  possible  to  the 
fort/'  The  following  night  the  English  withdrew  their 
advance-posts  and  retired  within  the  walls  of  the  forti 
fications.  On  the  3Oth  Rochambeau  with  Deux-Ponts 
reconnoitered  the  abandoned  posts.  They  were  found 
to  be  not  very  solid,  with  narrow  parapets,  on  sandy 
ground;  defended,  however,  by  excellent  abatis  of  pine 
wood,  but  this  of  course  was  easy  to  catch  fire.  The 
Bourbonnais  Grenadiers  were  placed  in  one  of  them 
and  the  chasseurs  of  Deux-Ponts  in  the  other.  The 
English  directed  the  fire  of  their  cannon  eight  or  ten 
times  toward  them,  but  without  doing  any  damage. 
The  volunteers  of  Saint-Simon,  urged  on  by  Viomesnil, 
became  masters  of  a  little  wood  in  front  of  our  left; 
an  hussar  was  killed;  and  an  officer  of  the  Agenais 
regiment  had  his  hip  broken.  The  same  day  Lauzun  ran 
into  Tarleton's  cavalry,  and  De  Choisy  carried  his  ad 
vance-posts  to  within  a  mile  of  Gloucester. 

From  the  1st  of  October  the  Americans  worked  upon 
a  redoubt,  which  was  to  unite  the  abandoned  works  of 
the  enemy,  some  from  the  American  side,  others  from  the 
French  side;  the  first  day,  the  English  fired  300  rounds 
of  cannon  upon  them;  fewer  the  second  day;  hardly 
any  were  killed.  On  the  5th  the  line  was  continued; 
during  the  nights  of  the  4th  and  5th  French  patrols 


174    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

frequently  glided  into  the  intrenchments  of  the  place; 
their  guns,  well  filled,  made  the  besieged  restless,  and  the 
whole  night  "they  fired  off  cannon  incessantly";  and 
even  during  the  nights  of  the  5th  and  6th.  De  Grasse 
sent  a  message  to  Rochambeau:  "All  the  evening  and 
night  I  have  heard  a  considerable  noise.  Evidently, 
you  are  tuning  your  instruments  to  accord  with  those  of 
Lord  Cornwallis.  Make  him  dance  lively  for  me." 

On  October  6th,  "all  being  prepared,  the  fascines,  the 
clayes  and  saucissons  made  ready,  nearly  all  the  siege 
artillery  having  arrived,  the  place  around  the  trench  well 
reconnoitered,  the  General  gave  the  order  to  begin  the 
attack  that  evening."  At  five  o'clock  Bourbonnais 
and  Soissonnais  went  to  the  end  of  the  trench ;  Viomesnil 
disposed  them  over  the  space  of  ground  they  had  to 
cover;  at  nightfall  the  engineers  put  the  workmen  in 
their  places:  "250  men  from  each  of  the  four  regiments 
who  were  not  on  trench  duty."  Work  was  well  con 
ducted  in  perfect  silence;  our  parallel  left  the  river  at 
200  toises  from  Yorktown,  and  extended  to  the  new 
American  redoubt,  situated  at  250  toises  beyond.  Tou- 
raine  was  ordered  to  construct,  on  the  enemy's  right,  a 
battery  for  eight  pieces  of  cannon,  and  six  howitzers  or 
mortars,  "which  were  to  serve  as  a  false  attack." 

From  the  7th,  Agenais  and  Saintonge,  who  relieved 
the  trench  at  noon,  were  able  to  place  their  first  battal 
ions  there;  the  second  battalions  remained  in  reserve 
in  the  ravines  at  the  back.  The  trench  was  spread  over 
700  toises,  "defended  by  four  redoubts  palisaded,  and 
five  batteries."  "The  ground,"  explains  Fersen,  "cut 
by  numerous  small  ravines,  greatly  aided  our  approach, 
and  we  were  able  to  arrive  in  safety  as  far  as  our  trench, 
without  being  obliged  to  make  a  side  trench."  On 
the  9th  an  American  battery  and  the  Touraine  battery 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE     175 

began  firing;  and  on  the  loth  our  forty-one  mouths  of 
fire,  "as  many  cannon  as  mortars  and  howitzers,"  all 
played  together  as  they  were  suddenly  unmasked.  Our 
cannon  were  well  aimed;  but  the  balls,  without  doing 
great  damage,  were  buried  in  the  sand  of  the  fortifications; 
already,  however,  we  learned  from  the  deserters  that 
the  bombs  were  fast  becoming  effective,  and  the  number 
of  dead  and  wounded  were  increasing  rapidly.  The 
English  had  only  small  pieces  of  cannon;  from  the  loth 
they  shot  on  an  average  of  six  rounds  an  hour  during 
the  day;  but  "they  threw  many  bombs  and  royal 
grenades,"  and  at  night  their  flying  batteries  became 
active  again. 

Here,  with  Chastellux,  we  must  render  homage  to 
the  American  artillery.  General  Knox,  "thirty- five 
years  old,  very  corpulent,  but  agile,  possessing  a  good- 
natured,  happy  disposition,  showed  much  intelligence 
in  assembling,  transporting,  unloading  and  putting  in 
place  on  the  batteries  30  cannon  or  mortars  of  gross 
calibre  that  he  often  took  the  trouble  to  point  himself. 
It  can  be  said  that  if,  upon  this  occasion,  the  English 
were  astonished  at  the  correctness  of  our  aim,  and  of  the 
terrible  execution  of  the  French  artillery,  we  were  none 
the  less  amazed  at  the  extraordinary  progress  of  the 
American  artillery,  as  well  as  of  the  capability  and 
instruction  of  a  great  number  of  their  officers." 

In  Yorktown  there  was  an  old  man  who  had  been 
for  thirty  years  employed  under  the  English  Govern 
ment  as  Secretary  of  the  Council  of  Virginia;  he  was 
called  Secretary  Nelson — and  was  the  uncle  of  the  gen 
eral.  "Too  advanced  in  age  to  desire  a  Revolution,  too 
prudent  to  try  to  stop  it  if  it  were  necessary,  too  faithful 
to  his  fellow-citizens  to  separate  his  interests  from 
theirs,"  he  lived  there  in  a  fine  house,  decorated  with 


i;6    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

bas-reliefs  of  marble,  upon  a  high  hill,  in  the  neighbor 
hood  of  the  most  important  fortifications.  The  house 
of  the  aged  man  attracted  the  fire  of  our  bomb-throwers 
and  gunners.  The  secretary  had  two  sons  among  the  be 
siegers;  one  of  them  sent  a  messenger  with  a  flag  to 
ask  safe-conduct  for  his  father;  and  Chastellux  saw  his 
anguish,  as  he  watched  the  gate  of  the  town,  which 
would  remain  perhaps  closed;  but  it  was  opened  to  let 
him  pass,  and  in  Washington's  quarters  the  old  man  told 
"with  a  serene  countenance  of  the  effect  of  our  batter 
ies,  of  which  his  house  had  tested  the  first  shells." 

Again  on  the  loth  the  enemy  ventured  to  send  some 
troops  up  the  river  on  flatboats  in  order  to  attack  De 
Choisy  in  the  rear.  Our  cannon  obliged  them  to  return. 

At  last,  on  October  I4th,  as  the  Gatinais  and  Royal- 
Deux- Fonts  regiments  were  coming  to  relieve  the  trench, 
the  final  attack  was  decided  upon  for  that  night.  "  Now 
Gatinais,"  Rochambeau  tells  us,  "had  been  made  up 
from  the  Auvergne  regiment.  ...  I  said  to  them: 
'My  children,  if  I  need  you  to-night,  I  hope  that  you 
have  not  forgotten  that  we  have  served  together  in  that 
brave  regiment  of  Auvergne  sans  tache?  They  promised 
that  if  I  would  have  their  name  of  Auvergne  returned 
to  them,  they  would  die  to  the  last  man;  they  kept  their 
word,  fought  like  lions,  and  lost  a  third  of  their  troops." 
Rochambeau  kept  his  word  also;  and  King  Louis  XVI 
of  France  restored  the  fine  name  of  Royal- Auvergne  to 
these  grenadiers  who  did  not  allow  themselves  to  be 
conquered  under  the  name  of  Gatinais. 

It  was  then  the  I4th.  Viomesnil  sent  an  order  to 
Guillaume  de  Deux-Ponts  to  "come  and  find  him  at  the 
end  of  the  trench."  He  separated  the  grenadiers  and 
chasseurs  from  the  two  regiments,  and  gave  the  count 
the  command  of  the  battalion  thus  formed,  saying 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE     177 

that  this  was  a  mark  of  his  confidence.  Deux-Ponts 
understood;  he  put  his  men  under  shelter,  and,  in  the 
course  of  the  afternoon,  with  Viomesnil,  De  Lestrade, 
Lieutenant-Colonel  de  Gatinais,  and  two  sergeants, 
"as  brave  as  they  were  intelligent, "  he  made  a  recon- 
noiter,  "with  the  greatest  exactitude/'  of  the  road  over 
which  he  would  have  to  go  during  the  night  and  the 
redoubt  in  question  to  be  raised.  At  the  right  of  the 
French  the  Americans  under  the  command  of  La 
Fayette  were  to  attack  the  redoubt  that  overlooked  the 
river.  We  have  his  recital  of  the  event,  the  report  of 
Viomesnil,  and  the  Journal  de  Guerre  of  Deux-Ponts; 
the  latter  gives  us  the  best  and  most  complete  informa 
tion. 

"Viomesnil  wished  to  conduct  the  column  of  attack 
himself:  he  left  Custine  in  the  trench.  When  night 
came,  the  battalion  of  assault,  passing  through  the  troops 
of  workers,  and  the  grenadiers  (who  wished  it  success 
and  glory,  although  they  were  filled  with  envy  to  take 
its  place)  arrived  at  the  rendezvous  fixed  by  Viomes 
nil.  Deux-Ponts  arranged  his  column  in  the  order  of 
attack,  and  waited  the  given  signal:  'six  bombs  fired 
consecutively  from  one  of  our  batteries.'  The  Gatinais 
chasseurs,  in  columns  by  squads,  were  at  the  front,  the 
first  fifty  carrying  fascines,  eight  of  them  with  ladders. 
Two  sergeants  of  the  Gatinais  regiment,  and  eight 
carpenters,  four  from  each  regiment,  preceded  the  rest. 
The  chasseurs  of  Agenais  and  Bourbonnais,  one  hundred 
steps  in  the  rear  of  the  battalion  stood  ready  to  come  to 
its  aid;  while  the  Count  de  Rostaing  held  himself  in 
reserve,  with  the  second  Gatinais  battalion. 

"Six  shells  were  fired;  the  besiegers  defiled  in  perfect 
order  and  silence.  It  was  forbidden  to  shoot  before 
arriving  on  the  top  of  the  parapet,  forbidden  to  jump, 


178    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

without  an  order,  into  the  intrenchment.  At  a  hundred 
and  thirty  steps  away  a  Hessian  sentinel  cried  out: 
"Wer  da!'1  The  assailants  kept  silent  and  quickened 
their  speed.  Under  a  volley  of  fire  they  reached  the 
abatis,  which  stopped  them  for  a  few  moments;  they 
left  some  of  their  comrades  there,  but  the  rest  jumped 
resolutely  into  the  ditch,  and  made  their  way  through 
the  fraise  which  protected  the  parapet;  the  carpenters 
made  breaks  in  the  palisades.  The  brave  Deux-Ponts 
did  not  succeed  in  getting  over  it,  and  fell  back  into  the 
trench;  De  Sillegue,  a  young  Gatinais  officer,  held  out 
his  hand  to  assist  him,  and  received,  nearly  at  the  same 
instant,  a  bullet  in  the  thigh.  As  far  as  the  eye  could 
see,  the  parapet  was  covered;  the  French  had  opened 
fire  and  the  effect  was  terrible.  Deux-Ponts  was 
about  to  give  the  order  to  jump  into  the  redoubt  and 
charge  with  bayonet,  when  the  enemy  laid  down  his 


arms." 


"We  jumped  then  with  more  tranquility  and  less 
risk.  I  immediately  started  the  cry  of :  '  Vive  le  Roi  I ' 
which  was  taken  up  by  all  the  grenadiers  and  chasseurs, 
and  repeated  by  all  the  troops  of  the  King  in  the  trench ; 
to  which  the  enemy  responded  by  a  general  salvo  of 
artillery  and  firing  of  guns :  never  have  I  seen  a  grander 
or  more  majestic  spectacle!"  Viomesnil  was  already 
there,  and  was  preparing  for  a  vigorous  defensive; 
there  was  a  rain  of  bullets,  and  it  seemed  that  the  Eng 
lish  were  going  to  counter-attack.  A  sentinel  who  ob 
served  their  movements  called  Deux-Ponts;  he  looked 
over  the  parapet;  a  bullet  passed  near  his  head,  "cover 
ing  his  face  with  sand  and  gravel."  This  was  the  end 
of  it;  the  affair  had  lasted  seven  minutes.  We  had 
ninety  killed  or  wounded,  of  which  twenty-one  were  of 
the  regiment  of  Royal-Deux-Ponts.  De  Berthelot  was 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE     179 

killed,  De  Sireuil  died  of  his  wounds.  Count  de  Damas 
and  Chevalier  de  Lameth  had  taken  part  in  the  attack 
as  volunteers;  Lameth  had  "his  knee-pan  broken,  and 
his  thigh  pierced  by  a  ball."  De  Vauban  was  there  also 
to  render  an  account  to  Rochambeau.  "With  troops 
as  good,  brave  and  well  disciplined  as  those  that  I  had 
the  honor  to  lead  against  the  enemy,  one  could  under 
take  anything,"  said  Count  Guillaume;  "I  owe  the 
greatest  day  of  my  life  to  them." 

The  same  spirit  and  the  same  success  was  noticeable 
upon  the  American  side.  While  Colonel  Laurens,  with 
eighty  men,  was  making  a  turn  of  the  redoubt,  the 
troops  of  Colonel  Hamilton,  seconded  by  Gimat,  at 
tacked  the  front.  Not  a  shot  was  fired.  "The  ardor  of 
the  troops,"  La  Fayette  assures  us,  "did  not  give  the 
sappers  time  to  cut  the  way  for  them."  La  Fayette 
had  strong  American  sentiments,  and  would  not  allow 
any  one  to  treat  his  men  as  novices.  It  seemed  to  him 
that  Viomesnil  had  a  tendency  in  this  direction.  The 
marquis  took  his  revenge:  as  the  Americans  were  hold 
ing  their  redoubt,  and  "the  French  firing  was  still  going 
on,  he  sent  an  aide-de-camp  to  ask  Baron  de  Viomesnil 
if  he  had  need  of  the  Americans  to  help  him."  This 
is  taken  from  his  Me  moires;  La  Fayette  forgot,  however, 
to  mention  Viomesnil's  answer.  It  was  perhaps  be 
cause  his  messenger  arrived  just  at  the  time  that  the  fact 
itself  responded ;  that  is,  the  capitulation  of  the  English. 

Here  is  the  version  of  Deux-Ponts  and  also  that  of 
Fersen :  "On  the  I5th  we  worked  all  day  under  a  shower 
of  bombs,  up  to  the  second  parallel.  On  the  i6th,  at 
five  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  men  on  guard,  worn  out, 
had  become  careless  and  many  slept;  certain  batteries 
were  deserted  and  the  pickets  suspected  nothing." 
According  to  the  recital  of  De  Noailles  the  English  re- 


i8o    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

sorted  to  a  ruse.  He  does  not  cite  his  witness,  but  says 
that  they  pretended  they  were  Americans  and  cried  out 
not  to  shoot.  Rochambeau  does  not  allude  to  anything 
of  this  kind.  As  many  as  600  English  soldiers  pene 
trated  into  the  parallel  and  spiked  four  pieces  of  cannon, 
but  did  not  have  time  to  do  their  work  well.  Chastellux 
interrupted  them,  and  Noailles  ended  their  discomfiture. 
Before  noon,  through  the  care  of  Colonel  Aboville,  com 
manding  our  artillery,  the  pieces  that  were  badly  spiked 
were  in  working  order  again. 

Cornwallis  was  in  great  extremity;  he  was  out  of 
food  and  munitions  with  1,500  sick  soldiers  in  the  hos 
pitals.  On  the  1 7th  he  displayed  his  flag  of  truce  and 
parleyed  about  the  terms  of  capitulation;  Laurens  and 
Noailles  were  commissioned  to  draw  up  the  articles 
signed  on  the  I9th  by  Washington,  Rochambeau,  and 
Barras,  at  Moore  House.  Through  the  windows  of  this 
little  house,  set  upon  a  high  cliff,  where  the  great  event 
took  place,  the  generals  could  view  the  Chesapeake — 
the  sea,  whence  came  their  salvation.  Seven  thousand 
soldiers  and  1,000  sailors  fell  into  our  hands,  with  214 
cannon  (74  of  which  were  bronze)  and  22  flags.  Rocham 
beau  and  Washington  made  sure  that  the  wounded 
received  every  attention.  Blanchard,  quartermaster- 
general,  and  the  chief  surgeons  Coste  and  Robillard 
were  assiduous  in  their  care  of  all — "  friends  and  enemies 
alike." 

On  the  2 ist,  Mathieu  Dumas  was  the  one  selected  to 
go  and  meet  the  prisoners  of  the  garrison;  he  placed 
himself  at  the  left  of  General  O'Hara,  who  commanded 
it.  Cornwallis  was  suffering.  "On  approaching  the 
trenches,  O'Hara  said  to  me :  '  Where  is  General  Rocham 
beau?7  'At  our  left,'  I  answered,  'at  the  head  of  the 
French  line/  The  English  General  spurred  his  horse 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE     181 

in  order  to  go  and  present  his  sword  to  the  French 
General.  Foreseeing  his  intention,  I  galloped  after  him 
so  as  to  place  myself  between  him  and  General  Rocham- 
beau,  who  just  at  this  moment  indicated  to  me,  General 
Washington,  facing  him  at  the  head  of  the  American 
Army.  'You  are  making  a  mistake,'  I  said  to  General 
O'Hara,  'the  General-in-Chief  of  our  Army  is  at  the 
right.'  I  conducted  him  there,  and  just  as  he  raised  his 
sword,  General  Washington  prevented  him,  saying: 
'Never,  from  such  a  good  hand.'  I  remember  that 
Colonel  Abercromby  (the  same  who  afterward  died  on 
the  field  of  battle  in  Egypt  where  he  was  victorious,  at 
the  moment  that  the  enemy-troops  were  laying  down 
their  arms)  moved  rapidly  away,  covering  his  face  and 
biting  the  end  of  his  sword." 

Neither  the  Americans  nor  the  French  gloated  over 
the  humiliation  of  the  vanquished.  It  is  rather  pity 
and  admiration  for  a  noble  misfortune  which  dominates 
the  French  Memoires.  Closen  accompanied  Rocham- 
beau  to  see  Lord  Cornwallis;  he  contemplated  with  re 
spect  this  great  soldier,  who  could  have  no  reason  for 
reproaching  himself.  His  whole  attitude  showed  an  ele 
vation  and  tranquility  of  soul.  Pontgibaud  notices  also 
the  "noble  confusion  of  all  these  brave  and  unfortunate 
soldiers."  No  expression  of  triumph  over  the  faces  of 
the  conquerors;  there  were  no  spectators  admitted. 
"A  general  silence,"  said  Henry  Lee,  "was  observed  in 
this  vast  assembly  of  men."  It  was  not  only  benevo 
lence  and  courtesy,  on  the  part  of  these  Paladins — as 
Viomesnil  called  those  men  who  had  just  shown  such 
pure  courage — on  the  part  of  those  magnanimous  rebels, 
by  no  means  surprised  or  disconcerted  by  their  sudden 
ascendancy;  but  it  was  all  surmounted  by  a  grave,  re 
ligious  feeling,  and  by  the  realization  of  the  capricious- 


182    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

ness  of  Destiny,  who  threatens  those  she  lifts  up,  and 
renders  sacred  those  she  strikes  down. 

Cornwallis  dined  on  November  2d  with  Rocham- 
beau ;  he  spoke  freely  of  his  campaign  in  Carolina,  of  his 
partial  victories,  of  the  cause  of  his  present  misfortune. 
He  knew  that  the  French  fought,  not  so  much  to  lower 
the  power  of  England,  as  through  an  enthusiastic  im 
pulse  of  head  and  heart.  In  his  report  published  in 
London,  he  spoke  of  the  delicate  way  that  they  showed 
their  sympathy  for  him  and  for  his  officers ;  offering  them 
money;  being  kind  and  cordial  to  them;  leaving,  in 
truth,  such  an  impression  upon  the  hearts  of  the  English 
that  it  could  never  be  effaced. 

And  what  of  Clinton?  On  the  2 7th  he  appeared  off 
Cape  Henry  with  twenty-seven  ships;  he  realized  that 
the  drama  had  been  played,  and  he  returned  to  England. 

Rochambeau  avoids  all  recrimination  in  his  Memoires; 
he  tells  what  occurred;  he  does  not  like  to  allude  to 
that  which  might  have  occurred.  It  is  through  a  high 
sense  of  honor  that  he  keeps  silent  upon  the  discomfiture 
that  followed  his  triumph ;  he  would  like  to  have  led  his 
troops  to  the  attack  of  Charleston,  to  push  on  farther 
and  continue  his  success  while  he  had  such  a  good  chance. 
But  he  had  to  have  the  fleet,  and  Admiral  de  Grasse  was 
impatient  to  go  back  to  the  West  Indies.  He  set  sail 
on  November  4th  with  the  Saint-Simon  corps;  Wash 
ington  returned  to  the  Hudson;  and  La  Fayette  went 
South  to  reinforce  General  Greene.  "The  French  re 
mained  at  Yorktown,  Gloucester,  Hampton  and  Wil- 
liamsburg,  where  they  took  up  the  quarters,  which  the 
enemy  had  counted  upon  occupying,  reconstructing 
the  houses  destroyed  by  the  operations  of  the  siege." 
Rochambeau  had  sent  to  France,  upon  two  frigates, 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE     183 

Lauzun  and  Deux- Fonts,  charged  with  the  articles  of 
capitulation.     Viomesnil  also  sailed  for  France. 

But  Chastellux  remained  and  took  a  trip  through 
Virginia — a  well-earned  rest  that  was  permitted  him. 
Greene  brought  back  new  victories;  he  had  forced  the 
English  to  re-enter  the  lines  at  Charleston.  At  the  end 
of  the  campaign  they  were  only  in  possession  of  this 
city,  Savannah,  and  the  islands  around  New  York. 
The  fortifications  of  Portsmouth,  f raised,  palisaded,  sur 
rounded  by  strong  abatis,  were  demolished  or  burned 
by  Mathieu  Dumas,  so  as  to  prevent  any  notion  that 
the  English  might  have  of  landing  there.  Much  alarm 
was  still  caused  in  the  Carolinas  by  the  report  that  aid  of 
4,000  men  from  Ireland  was  coming  for  the  English. 
At  the  urgent  solicitation  of  Greene,  Rochambeau  first 
calmed  his  excitement  with  a  little  philosophy ;  and  then 
he  sent  the  legion  of  Lauzun  under  De  Choisy  up  to 
and  along  the  frontier  of  North  Carolina,  and  ordered 
Mathieu  Dumas  to  keep  up  his  reconnoitering,  and  "to 
prepare  for  the  march"  in  case  a  part  of  the  army  had 
to  be  sent  to  the  South.  Dumas  through  his  tact  and 
intelligence  came  to  an  understanding  with  the  legisla 
tures  of  Virginia  and  Carolina.  All  these  precautions 
are  just  so  many  more  proofs  of  the  zeal  and  vigilance  of 
the  French. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  ARMY  OF  ROCHAMBEAU  AFTER  YORKTOWN — THE  WAR 

CEASES — THE   SQUADRON  OF   VAUDREUIL  AT  BOSTON 

—FRANCO-AMERICAN   FRIENDSHIP 

Rochambeau  had  dispatched  to  the  King  two  mes 
sengers  of  victory:  Lauzun  and  Deux- Fonts.  Lauzun 
arrived  the  first;  he  was  at  Versailles  on  Novem 
ber  iQth,  1781.  Maurepas,  dying,  received  him  "in 
the  most  touching  manner."  Great  was  the  supreme 
joy  of  the  old  Minister,  who  had,  with  all  his  influence, 
seconded  the  views  of  Vergennes;  great  was  the  joy  of 
the  King;  immense  the  joy  of  the  public.  A  dauphin 
was  born.  And  to  complete  the  general  rejoicing,  the 
convoy  from  San  Domingo  put  upon  the  market  2,000,- 
ooo  pounds  of  sugar,  coffee,  and  spices.  On  November 
27th  Paris,  upon  the  order  of  her  echevins  (magistrates), 
was  illuminated;  and  upon  that  day  Notre  Dame,  for 
the  first  time  in  many  years,  chanted  the  Te  Deum,  the 
"  divine  dithyrambic"  of  victory. 

Franklin  smiled;  his  predictions  had  come  true. 
Many  came  to  the  house  in  Passy  to  congratulate  him. 
But  Volney,  the  Abbe  de  la  Roche,  Turgot,  Morellet, 
and  Cabanis,  whose  young  face  was  so  pleasing  to  the 
patriarch,  and,  finally,  Madame  Helvetius,  Madame 
Brion  and  her  two  daughters,  what  did  they  not  say  to 
their  old  friend  !  He  told  them  one  day:  "At  your  age 
the  soul  is  outside;  at  mine,  it  is  inside  and  looks  out  the 
window  at  the  noise  of  the  passers-by."  Franklin 
opened  wide  the  windows  of  his  soul,  and  the  acclamation 
of  France  was  sweet  to  him. 

184 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE    185 

The  King  wrote  a  personal  letter  to  Rochambeau 
on  November  26th:  "The  success  of  my  armies  will 
never  flatter  me  except  when  they  are  on  the  road  to 
peace."  And  to  Vergennes  he  said:  "You  have  ren 
dered  our  arms  most  brilliant  and  laid  a  stone  of  expecta 
tion  upon  which  I  hope  we  will  build  an  honorable  edi 
fice  of  peace."  But  he  was  left  without  the  order. 
The  Lion  had  not  yet  brought  him,  in  June,  1782,  the 
instructions  that  he  had  solicited.  He  only  knew  that 
"the  English  had  made  to  France  propositions  of  peace 
as  advantageous  as  she  could  possibly  hope  for;  but,  as 
America  was  not  comprised  in  it,  the  King  had  rejected 
it,  absolutely." 

America  spontaneously  responded  to  our  constancy  by 
an  equal  fidelity.  General  Carleton,  who  had  relieved 
Clinton,  proposed,  in  the  name  of  his  government,  the 
recognition  of  the  independence  of  the  United  States 
provided  they  detached  themselves  from  their  alliance 
with  France.  Congress  responded  that  the  republic 
was  bound  by  duty  and  honor  never  to  make  a  separate 
peace.  The  State  of  Maryland  declared  enemy  to  the 
nation  any  one  who  would  speak  of  a  treaty  without 
including  France ;  Virginia,  then  all  the  colonies,  adopted 
the  same  resolution.  The  Assembly  of  South  Carolina 
refused  to  lay  down  arms.  And  La  Luzerne  reported 
this  news  to  Versailles  by  Chevalier  de  Clouard. 

But  Rochambeau  was  disturbed.  He  thought  that 
the  English  would  not  give  up  so  easily.  He  learned  in 
June  of  the  disaster  of  Dominica  and  other  French 
islands:  Admiral  de  Grasse  surprised  by  Rodney;  his 
fatal  manoeuvre;  the  Ville  de  Paris,  the  admiral's  ship, 
sunk;  the  admiral  taken  prisoner;  3,000  Frenchmen 
killed.  However,  he  knew  that  the  English  were  re 
signed  to  the  evacuation  of  Charleston  and  Savannah. 


1 86    SOLDIERS  AND   SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

In  the  absence  of  orders,  he  decided  to  do  the  best  he 
could;  that  is,  to  join  his  troops  to  those  of  Congress 
in  the  North,  so  as  to  threaten  New  York.  On  July  27th 
his  army  was  assembled  at  Baltimore.  A  detachment, 
under  the  command  of  De  la  Vallette,  that  Rochambeau 
had  left  behind  to  take  away  the  artillery  from  York- 
town  and  Gloucester  and  raze  these  places,  arrived  by 
slow  stages;  from  the  commander  to  the  last  soldier,  all 
were  ill.  It  was  necessary  to  remain  in  Baltimore  a 
month,  until  after  the  season  of  great  heat  had  passed. 

Meanwhile,    the    enemy   had    evacuated    Savannah; 
and  Rochambeau  had  a  letter  from  De  Vaudreuil,  "who 
was  setting  sail,  with  what  was  left  of  the  fleet  of  De 
Grasse,  for  Boston."     Vaudreuil  came  to  anchor  on  the 
26th  of  July  at  the  entrance  to  Chesapeake  Bay,  to  see 
if  he  could  be  of  use  to  the  general ;   he  offered  to  land 
his  men  (it  was  no  longer  seasonable)  and  he  asked  him 
for  100  artillerymen  with  two  companies  of  grenadiers, 
to  attempt  an  operation  upon  Penobscot,  100  miles  to 
the  north  of  New  York.     Rochambeau  knew  how  diffi 
cult  it  would  be ;  it  was  no  easy  matter  to  take  this  post. 
The  preceding  year  Washington  had  distinctly  advised 
against  this  expedition,  after  the  combat  of  Destouches 
in  the  Chesapeake.     Consulted  again,  he  thanked  Vau 
dreuil,  "with  a  heart  full  of  gratitude  for  the  noble  offer 
of  his  assistance";   but  he  persuaded  him  to  give  up  so 
dangerous  a  design;    the  least  of  the  perils  was  to  be 
surprised  by  the  fleet  from  New  York,  at  the  lower  part 
of  the  bay,  with  a  southeast  wind.     However,  the  ap 
proach  of  Vaudreuil  had  alarmed  the  English ;  the  con 
voys  of  troops  and  munitions  dared  not  go  as  far  as  New 
York  and  took  refuge  at  Halifax.    At  New  York,  even, 
all  the  vessels  were  drawn  up  behind  Sandy  Hook  and 
they  made  ready  to  sink  eight  ships,  so  as  to  bar  the 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE     187 

port.  There  was  a  rising  of  the  masses.  They  did  not 
recover  from  their  fright  until  the  4th  of  September, 
upon  the  arrival  of  Admiral  Pigot,  who,  after  a  long  in 
terval,  succeeded  Rodney.  And  Rochambeau  hurried, 
then,  to  the  Hudson. 

The  war  ceased  as  of  itself.  While  in  the  preceding 
years,  the  English  corsairs,  after  the  departure  of  De 
Grasse,  had  ravaged  the  coast  of  Delaware,  in  August, 
1782,  at  Philadelphia,  Fersen  noted  that  the  English 
seemed  to  conduct  themselves  in  a  less  hostile  manner 
in  the  country :  they  had  forbidden  all  of  their  partisans 
called  Tories  or  Refugees  (all  of  that  loyalist  canaille,  as 
Chastellux  called  them,  who  had  spitefully  pillaged  the 
Carolinas  and  Virginia,  and  whom  Lord  Cornwallis  had 
so  much  trouble  to  conduct  and  keep  within  bounds) 
to  make  any  incursions  without  a  permission  signed  by 
the  commandant  of  the  place.  Perhaps  a  like  horror  of 
the  hardships  of  war  was  impressed  upon  Louis  XVI 
when  he  learned  that  Vaudreuil  had  sent  La  P6rouse 
with  some  frigates  into  Hudson  Bay  to  destroy  all  of  the 
English  possessions;  the  Correspondance  Secrete  claims 
that  the  King  speaking  upon  this  subject  to  his  Minister 
of  Marine,  De  Castries,  said:  "This  manner  of  making 
war  gives  me  great  displeasure." 

But  this,  perhaps,  was  only  a  report  given  out  by  the 
Anglomaniacs ;  there  were  many  others:  upon  the  pre 
tended  discord  that  reigned  between  the  French  and 
American  armies;  upon  the  extravagant  project  nour 
ished  by  the  monarchy  of  making  Washington  a  stad- 
holder  with  the  power  of  a  Roman  dictator,  etc.  Then 
there  were  the  recriminations  of  the  Chamber  of  Com 
merce  :  the  United  States  was  taking  away  from  us,  for 
the  profit  of  Great  Britain,  a  part  of  our  commerce  with 
our  own  colonies;  this  war  opened,  to  our  (French) 


1 88    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

disadvantage,  a  brilliant  career  for  the  commerce  of  the 
neutral  countries.  The  orators  in  the  cafes  became  so 
indiscreet  "that  M.  L'Hopital,  one  of  the  declaimers  at 
the  head  of  the  Anglomaniacs,  received  notice  to  keep 
quiet";  and  because  De  Fr6ville,  of  the  party  of  the 
Economists,  spoke  too  much  and  too  badly,  he  was  put 
in  the  Bastille,  and  afterward  in  the  prison  of  La  Force. 

In  truth,  even  after  the  news  of  the  disaster  of  the 
Saintes  (French  islands  in  the  West  Indies)  the  resolu 
tion  of  the  King  was  sustained  by  the  whole  nation. 
His  Majesty  ordered  put  on  the  docks,  immediately, 
12  vessels  of  the  line  of  no,  80,  and  74  cannon;  his  two 
brothers,  the  states  of  Bourgogne,  the  provosts  of  the 
merchants,  and  six  companies  of  the  merchants  of 
Paris,  and  those  of  Marseille,  Bordeaux,  and  Lyon, 
offered  to  the  King  vessels  of  no  cannon.  Then  the 
farmers-general,  the  companies  of  finance,  and  individ 
uals  brought  their  contributions.  Diplomacy  had  al 
ready  entered  upon  its  work,  and  again  France  armed. 
However,  in  the  meanwhile,  on  March  4th,  1782,  the 
British  Parliament  had  declared  enemy  of  the  country 
whosoever  would  attempt  to  continue  an  offensive  war 
fare  against  the  Americans.  The  work  of  peace  had 
begun. 

And  so  we  have  but  little  else  to  relate  except  ad 
ventures  and  impressions  of  travelers.  Having  left 
Baltimore  on  the  23d  of  August,  Rochambeau,  still 
suffering  from  intermittent  fever,  encamped  on  the  i6th 
opposite  King's  Ferry,  where  upon  the  left  of  the  Hud 
son  the  Americans  awaited  us.  "It  was  a  family  fete,'1 
said  Mathieu  Dumas;  and  Rochambeau  adds  in  his 
Memoir es:  "General  Washington,  wishing  to  show  his 
respect  to  France  and  his  gratitude  for  her  beneficence, 
made  us  pass  between  two  rows  of  his  troops,  dressed, 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE    189 

equipped  and  armed  for  the  first  time  since  the  begin 
ning  of  the  Revolution,  partly  from  goods  and  arms  com 
ing  from  France,  partly  from  the  magazines  of  York- 
town.  He  had  the  drums  beat  the  French  march  during 
the  whole  of  this  revue/'  Encamped  before  Crompond 
on  the  mountain,  the  French  corps  were  just  a  march 
from  New  York,  or  Staten  Island. 

It  was  there  that  Viomesnil,  promoted  lieutenant-gen 
eral,  rejoined  the  army,  after  a  return  voyage  that  we 
should  call  more  romantic  than  unfortunate.  All  the 
young  nobility  of  France  wished  to  go  to  America  with 
him;  upon  the  frigates  the  Gloire  and  Aigle  he  brought 
the  Prince  de  Broglie,  eldest  son  of  the  marshal;  the 
Count  de  S6gur,  son  of  the  Minister  of  War;  the  Count 
de  Lomenie  and  Alexandre  de  Lameth;  and  Lauzun 
and  the  Baron  de  Montesquieu  returned.  Segur  gives 
the  best  account  of  the  adventure,  with  his  incorrigible 
gay  humor. 

First  they  had  a  naval  combat.  During  the  night 
of  the  4th  of  September,  off  the  Bermudas,  was  sounded 
"the  clearing  of  the  ships."  As  soon  as  the  ships  were 
cleared,  and  the  gangways  closed,  every  one  was  at  his 
post.  The  darkness  was  so  thick  that  on  board  the 
Gloire,  commanded  by  De  Vallongue,  they  first  had  the 
impression  that  it  was  a  merchant  ship  that  they  had 
perceived.  The  enemy  ship  and  the  frigate  ran  along 
side,  gradually  approaching  each  other.  When  they 
were  within  gun  range  there  was  no  longer  any  uncer 
tainty.  Vallongue  answered  shot  for  shot.  Unfortu 
nately,  La  Touche,  his  senior  officer,  who  commanded 
the  Aigle,  made  him  a  sign  to  turn  the  ship  to  the 
wind;  he  hesitated,  obeyed,  tacked  about,  and  at  that 
moment  he  presented  the  poop  to  the  enemy  ship, 


190    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

receiving  her  whole  volley — a  volley  of  seventy-four 
cannon — from  stern  to  bow.  A  lieutenant  of  the  mer 
chant  marine  saw  Vallongue 's  embarrassment;  he  took 
charge  of  the  manoeuvre,  and  so  well  did  he  do  it  that 
the  Gloire  arrived  in  her  turn  on  a  level  with  the  enemy's 
stern,  and  gave  her  back  a  good  broadside;  upon  this, 
Vallongue  embraced  Lieutenant  Gandeau.  He  thought 
he  was  lost  but  he  wished  to  die  courageously.  With 
intrepid  bravery,  he  hailed  the  English  captain:  "Down 
with  your  flag!"  The  Englishman  called  out,  "All 
right,"  and  a  terrible  volley  followed  his  reply.  They 
(the  French)  recognized  the  Hector  that  the  English  had 
taken  from  De  Grasse.  The  Aigle,  arriving  unexpect 
edly,  changed  the  fate  of  combat ;  the  two  boats  were  so 
near  each  other  that  the  gunners  could  fight  with  their 
ramrods.  What  a  fete !  A  yard-arm  of  the  Hector 
caught  in  the  mast  of  the  Aigle;  Viomesnil  cried  out: 
"Board  her!"  But  the  English  captain  preferred  to 
cut  his  cable  which  held  him  to  the  Aigle,  and  go  and 
sink  a  little  farther  away.  On  that  day  the  Baron  de 
Montesquieu  learned  what  he  had  been  ignorant  of; 
what  Segur  had  not  then  desired  to  tell  him.  A  double- 
headed  shot — two  balls  joined  together  by  a  bar  of 
iron — broke  on  the  quarter-deck,  just  as  they  were 
descending,  with  Broglie,  Lam'eth,  and  the  others. 
"Do  you  want  to  know,"  said  he  to  Lom6nie,  "what  a 
'dangerous  liaison'  means?  Look!  Here  it  is." 

On  the  nth  the  two  frigates,  on  arriving  at  the  en 
trance  of  the  Delaware,  fell  upon  an  English  flotilla. 
For  lack  of  a  pilot,  they  steered  into  a  channel  closed  up 
by  a  sand-bar.  De  la  Touche  and  De  Vallongue  re 
solved  to  go  as  far  as  possible,  and,  when  they  could 
go  no  farther,  to  turn  out  broadsides  and  sell  their  lives 
dearly.  As  to  the  land  officers,  they  disembarked  with 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE    191 

the  dispatches  and  2,500,000  limes  in  gold.  They 
found  themselves  exhausted,  without  food,  in  the  woods 
and  marshes  of  an  unknown  country,  where  the  horse 
of  S6gur  came  near  being  lost  in  the  quicksands.  De 
Lomenie,  De  Chabannes,  De  Melfort,  and  De  Talley 
rand  were  commissioned  to  look  for  beef  and  wagons; 
but  wherever  they  went  they  were  received  as  suspects. 
They  finally  found  what  they  needed.  Viomesnil,  at 
the  break  of  day,  on  the  I3th,  saw  some  sloops  arriving 
loaded  with  the  precious  coin;  he  had  just  unloaded 
two  tons  of  the  gold  when  he  saw  other  sloops  approach 
ing,  manned  by  red  coats;  quickly  he  threw  the  money 
overboard  and  sailed  away,  going  in  the  direction  of 
Dover;  he  found  out,  en  route,  that  it  was  possible  at 
low  tide  to  fish  up  the  said  tons  of  gold,  retraced  his 
steps,  fished  them  up,  and  set  sail  again.  They  (the 
Frenchmen  in  the  sloops)  were  "naked,  without  any 
equipment  or  valets,"  but  would  have  been  the  happiest 
souls  in  the  world  had  they  not  left  the  frigates  behind 
them  in  extreme  peril.  The  Aigle,  in  fact,  was  captured 
by  Admiral  Elphingston.  Those  who  saved  the  treasure 
were  eighteen  sailors  and  five  officers;  one  of  them  was 
called  the  Marquis  de  MacMahon. 

Arriving  at  Philadelphia,  Segur  was  pleased  with 
everything.  How  often  a  happy  menage  has  been  de 
cried  in  this  century !  The  Count  de  Segur  writes  thus 
to  his  wife:  "I  have  thought  of  thee  so  much,  and 
in  the  midst  of  the  hail  of  bullets  and  balls  whistling 
around  my  ears,  I  tenderly  kissed  thy  portrait  in  the 
presence  of  the  Prince  de  Broglie,  who  was  very  much 
touched,  and  also  kissed  it;  under  any  other  circum 
stances  I  should  have  been  jealous."  He  gave  his  dis 
patches  to  La  Luzerne,  admired  the  wide,  straight 
streets,  the  elegant  residences,  the  whole  city  in  fact, 


192    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

which  was  "a  noble  temple  raised  to  tolerance."  At  last 
he  falls  asleep;  an  officer  awakens  him;  order  from  Vio- 
mesnil  to  go  at  once  to  the  North  to  take  the  messages  of 
the  court  of  France  to  the  generals.  On  the  way  to 
the  Hudson  the  enchantment  continues;  he  found  polite 
ness,  kindness,  and  zeal  for  the  common  cause;  towns 
well  filled  with  inhabitants;  poverty  or  coarseness  not 
to  be  seen;  a  pleasing  landscape  full  of  beauty.  At 
Crompond,  on  October  5th,  he  celebrates  in  lyric  terms 
the  magnificence  of  the  Hudson,  "a  sea  flowing  between 
two  vast  forests  centuries  old."  Duplessis  in  his  work 
Un  Romain  comments  upon  the  landscape  with  his  sou 
venirs  of  the  war.  And  why  not  let  us  quote  again 
from  this  letter  to  the  Countess  de  Segur,  which  gives 
such  a  good  idea  of  the  spirit  of  the  times:  "I  should 
like  to  live  in  this  country  with  thee;  believe  me,  it  is 
much  better  than  ours  for  people  who  love  virtue.  .  .  . 
The  forests,  still  a  little  deserted.  .  .  .  This  is  the  only 
country  for  honest  people;  the  beginning  of  civilization 
is  the  time  for  their  reign.  Before  this  epoch,  there 
was  too  much  vulgarity,  since  then  one  is  too  blas£  to 
be  virtuous.  ...  I  have  re-read  Telemaque,  it  is  the 
best  lesson  for  a  young  man  who  goes  into  the  army." 

The  Prince  de  Broglie  was  happy,  witty,  in  fact,  quite 
contented  with  himself;  contented  also  with  others. 
De  la  Luzerne  loaned  him  a  shirt  and  invited  him  to  go 
to  the  house  of  a  Mrs.  Morris,  who  was  "very  fairly 
adorned."  He  took  twelve  cups  of  tea,  which  gave  him 
such  lively  impertinence  that  his  Souvenirs  show  the 
result  of  it.  I  like  his  impressions  of  Newport  better. 
De  Vauban  took  him  one  day  with  Fersen  to  the  house 
of  a  Quaker:  "Suddenly  a  door  opened  and  we  saw  the 
Goddess  of  grace  and  beauty  enter.  Minerva  in  person, 
who  had  dropped  her  attributes  of  war  for  the  more 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE     193 

pleasing  garments  of  a  simple  shepherdess;  it  was  the 
daughter  of  the  '  trembleur ,'  the  Quaker.  Her  name  was 
Polly  Leiton.  .  .  .  She  spoke  to  us  using  thee  and  thou, 
but  with  a  simplicity  and  gracefulness  that  I  could 
not  better  compare  to  anything  but  her  costume;  it 
was  a  kind  of  English  style  of  dress,  fitting  close  to  the 
form  and  white  as  snow,  a  muslin  apron  of  the  same 
purity,  a  very  simple  fichu,  high  at  the  neck;  her  head 
adorned  with  a  little,  plain,  round,  pleated  bonnet  of 
batiste,  which  allowed  half  an  inch  of  her  hair  to  show 
and  gave  Polly  the  air  of  a  Madonna.  She  did  not  seem 
to  realize  her  charms;  she  talked,  with  perfect  ease  and 
the  use  of  thee  and  thou  of  the  Quakers,  about  polite 
and  innocent  things.  She  enchanted  all  of  us,  was 
conscious  of  it  a  little  and  did  not  appear  displeased  at 
having  charmed  'her  friends/  as  she  called  us.  I  must 
admit  that  this  little  seductive  Leiton  appears  to  me  to 
be  one  of  nature's  masterpieces." 

This  angel,  whose  eyes  "reflected,  like  two  mirrors,  the 
sweetness  of  a  pure  and  tender  soul,"  asked  Segur  why 
he  followed  "the  horrible  vocation  of  war."  He  an 
swered:  "For  you."  She  replied:  "Thee  must  not 
meddle  with  the  affairs  of  others,  unless  it  be  to  prevent 
bloodshed.  ...  I  am  sure  that  thy  wife,  if  she  be  a 
good  heart,  is  of  my  opinion."  Polly  Leiton  did  not 
suspect  how  much  justice  she  was  doing  the  French. 

The  army  did  not  leave  Crompond  until  October  22d. 
S6gur  had  brought  the  order  to  be  in  readiness  to  de 
part  with  the  squadron  of  Vaudreuil,  so  as  to  go  to  the 
islands  as  soon  as  the  English  would  evacuate  Charles 
ton.  Vaudreuil  did  not  feel  safe  in  Boston.  He  feared 
that  the  task  was  beyond  his  power.  He  was  reassured 
by  Rochambeau,  who  sent  De  Fleury  to  him.  He  had 
"perfect  knowledge  of  the  use  of  the  language  and  the 


194    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF   FRANCE 

manners  of  the  country,"  and  gave  a  good  standing  to 
his  militia.  Finally,  on  November  loth,  Rochambeau 
also  drew  quite  near  to  him ;  he  encamped  at  Providence. 
Decidedly  it  must  have  been  known  that  Charleston  was 
evacuated.  It  was  the  moment  to  rush  to  the  aid  of 
the  French  islands  in  the  West  Indies.  But  the  ships 
of  Vaudreuil  were  in  need  of  repair.  They  waited  until 
the  4th  of  December.  Newport  was  but  ten  miles  dis 
tant;  the  officers,  who  had  such  pleasant  memories  of 
it,  went  there  to  bid  farewell  to  their  friends.  At  Provi 
dence,  Rochambeau  gave  "frequent  assemblies  and  nu 
merous  balls*'  that  were  attended  by  the  people  from  far 
and  near.  "I  do  not  recall,"  says  S6gur  again,  " having 
seen,  in  any  other  place,  a  reunion  more  full  of  gayety 
and  less  confusion,  more  pretty  women  and  happy  cou 
ples,  more  grace  arid  less  coquetry,  a  more  complete 
blending  of  persons  of  all  classes,  among  whom  an  equal 
modesty  prevented  any  shocking  difference  to  be  seen. 
This  modesty,  order,  simple  liberty — this  happiness  of 
the  new  Republic,  so  mature  in  its  infancy,  formed  the 
nucleus  of  our  conversations  with  Chastellux."  Upon 
Washington  also  they  must  have  talked  at  length;  like 
the  chevalier,  S£gur  admired  in  him  the  purest  of 
heroes. 

We  might  almost  say  that  at  the  moment  the  French 
were  leaving  America,  the  union  of  the  two  nations  was 
entering  its  honeymoon.  They  had  never  understood 
each  other  better,  nor  loved  each  other  more.  The 
French  had  formerly  made  slighting  remarks  in  regard 
to  the  instruction,  discipline,  and  uniforms  of  the 
American  soldiers;  Segur  does  not  make  them  now; 
everything  seems  to  him  the  "picture  of  order,  reason, 
and  experience";  he  infinitely  enjoys  "the  noble  air, 
the  fine  bearing,  the  kindly  nature  of  these  officers  and 


SOLDIERS  AND   SAILORS  OF  FRANCE     195 

their  generals." — All  of  the  prejudices  of  the  Americans 
against  the  French  had  also  vanished.  A  deputation 
of  Quakers  from  Philadelphia  made  the  following  speech 
to  Rochambeau:  "General,  it  is  not  for  thy  military 
qualities  that  we  have  come  to  make  thee  this  visit. 
We  do  not  take  much  into  account  talents  for  war; 
but  thee  art  the  friend  of  men,  and  thy  army  lived  in 
perfect  order  and  discipline.  This  is  the  reason  that 
we  have  come  to  pay  thee  our  respects."  When  the 
French  army  crossed  Connecticut  on  its  way  to  Provi 
dence,  the  aged  Trumbull  told  his  fellow  citizens  "not 
to  raise  a  penny  on  the  price  of  food  when  the  French 
soldiers  passed  through  the  State."  And  they  gener 
ously  conformed  to  the  order  given.  Rochambeau  could 
report  that  the  French  army  "left  America  with  univer 
sal  gratitude  of  its  allies  in  all  of  the  thirteen  States, 
without  exception." 

From  the  1st  of  December  the  French  troops  were 
directed  successively  toward  Boston.  S6gur  left,  with 
great  regret,  this  country  "where  one  is  what  one  ought 
to  be;  frank,  honest,  loyal  and  free.  Here  one  is  not 
forced  to  be  rich,  low,  false,  foolish,  a  courtier  or  a 
soldier;  one  can  be  simple  or  extraordinary,  a  traveler  or 
a  sedentaire,  politician,  litterateur,  merchant,  occupied  or 
idle;  no  one  is  shocked.  .  .  .  I  am  truly  heavy-hearted 
upon  leaving  this  country."  Up  to  the  2Oth  of  December 
there  were  festivities  and  balls.  Boston,  the  Puritan 
city,  first  showed  its  joy;  then  came  its  sorrow  at  the 
approaching  separation.  They  commended  an  eigh 
teen-year-old  sergeant,  Va-de-bon-cceur,  formerly  Count 
Bozon  de  Talleyrand  P6rigord,  aide-de-camp  to  Chastel- 
lux,  because  he  preferred,  rather  than  go  back  to  France, 
or  to  fight  in  the  West  Indies,  and  since  no  one  wished 
to  take  him  as  an  officer,  to  don  the  cap  of  a  grenadier 


196    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

and  the  epaulettes  of  wool,  and  hide  himself,  if  one  may 
express  it  that  way,  in  the  regiment  of  De  Saint- Maime. 
We  can  judge  of  the  welcome  of  the  French  troops  by 
the  manner  in  which  Chastellux  was  feted  the  preceding 
month  in  the  homes  of  the  Bostonians.  "On  November 
I4th,  the  Association  Ball  was  opened  by  the  Marquis 
de  Vaudreuil  with  Mrs.  Temple;  the  elder  M.  de  T Ai 
guille  (a  naval  officer)  and  M.  Truguet  danced,  each  one, 
a  minuet  and  did  honor  to  the  French  nation  by  their 
graceful  and  easy  performance."  The  next  day  there 
was  a  soiree  at  the  home  of  Mr.  Gushing,  deputy-gover 
nor,  and  tea  at  the  same  place  on  the  i6th.  "M.  de 
Parois,  nephew  of  the  Marquis  de  Vaudreuil,  sent  for  his 
harp  and  played  with  much  charm  and  talent.'1  Chas 
tellux  loved  to  meet  the  very  sensible  and  amiable  Mrs. 
Tudor,  who  understood  French  and  spoke  it  very  well, 
and  what  was  more  than  wit,  she  had  "gracious  and 
charming  manners."  He  enjoyed  the  pleasure  of  a 
quiet  conversation,  interrupted  from  time  to  time  by 
music;  Mathieu  Dumas  and  Parois  sang  duos,  agreeable 
to  the  ears,  while  the  beautiful  Mrs.  Whitemore  "took 
charge  of  the  pleasure  of  the  eyes."  Messrs.  Brown, 
Brick,  Bowdoin,  and  Mr.  Russell,  "an  honest  merchant 
who  made  a  splendid  host,"  and  the  Consul  of  France, 
M.  de  L6tombes,  gathered  around  the  chevalier  the  gay 
est  and  finest  company.  And  farther  on,  Chastellux 
renders  thanks  to  Vaudreuil:  "One  can  hardly  believe 
how  much  the  presence  of  the  squadron  here  has  been 
conducive  to  the  drawing  together  of  the  two  nations. 
The  noble  bearing  of  M.  le  Marquis  de  Vaudreuil,  his 
affable  manners  which  are  an  example  to  all,  as  well  as 
his  simplicity  and  kindness,  have  captivated  the  hearts 
of  a  people  who  have  not  been,  up  to  this  time,  always 
friendly  toward  us.  The  officers  of  our  Navy  have  been 


PEACE— AN  ALLEGORY. 

Note  the  effigy  of  Louis  XVI  and  the  bust  of  Vergennes. 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE     197 

received  everywhere,  not  only  as  allies,  but  as  brothers. 
They  have  been  admitted  into  the  greatest  intimacy  in 
the  homes  of  the  ladies  of  Boston,  without  the  least  in 
discretion,  or  single  pretension,  or  even  appearance  of 
foppishness  to  trouble  the  confidence  and  innocence  of 
this  intercourse. " 

It  was  necessary  to  depart.  "In  the  midst  of  the 
acclamations  and  gratitude  of  the  Americans,  who  sa 
luted  the  French  flag  with  their  hurrahs,"  the  squadron 
of  Vaudreuil  left  Boston  on  December  24th,  1782. 
"The  winds  blew  from  the  west,  the  sea  was  beautiful, 
the  sky  serene."  Suddenly,  the  wind  changed  to  the 
east,  a  storm  arose.  This  was  the  beginning  of  a  new 
series  of  trials;  it  is  not  our  mission  to  tell  how  the 
French  arrived  at  Porto  Cabello,  on  the  coast  of  Vene 
zuela.  In  April  Vaudreuil  received  orders  there  to  take 
the  troops  back  to  France. 

Rochambeau  had  left  his  command.  He  went  to 
take  leave  of  Washington  at  Newburgh  on  December 
7th;  they  tenderly  took  farewell  of  each  other,  and  the 
whole  of  the  American  army  was  eager  to  give  to  the 
French  general  the  most  sincere  assurance  of  eter 
nal  brotherly  affection.  "On  January  8th  Rocham 
beau  embarked  upon  the  Emeraude,  which  awaited  him 
at  Annapolis,  on  the  Chesapeake  Bay;  he  took  on  board 
De  Choisy,  De  Seville,  De  Vauban,  De  Montesquieu, 
the  Viscount  de  Rochambeau  (the  son  of  the  General), 
and  twelve  other  officers.  The  frigate  passed  the 
Capes,  the  I4th;  she  had  hardly  left  the  entrance  of 
the  bay  when  she  was  chased  by  an  English  corvette." 
The  captain  of  the  French  ship  dropped  some  of  his 
masts  and  yard-arms  and  the  cannon  of  the  forecastle, 
and  was  finally  lost  to  sight  by  the  enemy  ship,  after 
having  made  eighty  miles  to  the  south.  On  the  i6th 


198    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

the  frigate  went  through  the  most  violent  wind-storm 
that  the  oldest  sailors  on  board  had  ever  witnessed. 
Another  time  lightning  struck  the  foremast  and  broke 
it.  On  February  loth  (1783)  the  Emeraude  cast  anchor 
at  Saint-Nazaire.  Rochambeau  started  at  once  for 
Versailles,  and  did  not  stop  until  he  reached  his  destina 
tion.  The  King  said  that  it  was  to  him,  and  the  tak 
ing  of  the  army  of  Cornwallis,  that  he  owed  peace; 
Rochambeau,  faithful  in  prosperity  to  his  high  char 
acter,  asked  permission  to  divide  this  praise  with  a  man 
whose  misfortunes  were  only  known  to  him  (the  King) 
through  the  public  papers,  adding,  "that  he  would  never 
forget,  and  he  hoped  His  Majesty  would  not  forget 
that,  without  the  co-operation  of  M.  de  Grasse,  we 
would  never  have  taken  the  Army  of  Lord  Cornwallis." 
Rochambeau  had  the  entr6e  to  the  King's  chamber, 
the  Cordon  Bleu,  the  government  of  Picardy;  but  "that 
which  flattered  him  the  most,"  and  we  must  believe  it, 
was  that  he  was  granted  all  the  favors  he  asked  for  his 
officers  and  soldiers. 

What  is  then  this  peace  of  which  the  King  has  spoken  ? 


CHAPTER  XI 

A  PEACE  OF  RECONCILIATION — CONCLUSION 

It  was  a  peace  of  reconciliation. 

As  Doniol  has  finely  emphasized,  Count  de  Vergennes 
and  Lord  Shelburne  "were  convinced  that  they  were 
closing,  definitely,  a  fatal  period."  They  both  thought 
that  free  exchanges  commercially  would  increase  the 
moral  obligations  among  men,  rendering  wars  less  fre 
quent,  closing  the  era  of  conquests  and  submissions. 

In  order  that  the  agreement  could  be  realized,  it  was 
necessary  for  Shelburne  to  become  Prime  Minister. 
Beginning  December,  1781,  for  the  duration  of  three 
months,  there  were  preliminary  parley  ings,  official 
exchanges  between  David  Hartley,  the  emissary  of 
Lord  North,  and  Dupont,  the  future  Dupont  de  Ne 
mours,  one  of  the  best  leaders  of  the  Economist  party. 
In  seeking  the  services  of  a  man  well-versed  in  the 
philosophical  study  of  commerce,  Vergennes  certainly 
indicated  that,  in  order  to  bind  the  two  nations  to 
gether,  he  counted  upon  the  common  doctrines  and  the 
same  moral  aspirations  which,  for  years  of  constant  in 
tellectual  intercourse,  had  united,  across  the  Channel, 
those  minds  careful  of  the  future  of  the  human  race. 
Dupont,  however,  did  not  declare  himself  in  this  way, 
but  rather  took  pride  in  remaining  "in  the  vagueness  of 
principles." 

England 's  game  then  was  to  lead  America  into  a 
separate  peace,  and  Hartley  believed  that  Franklin 
would  accede  to  it.  The  reply  was  definite.  "This," 
wrote  the  doctor,  "has  always  given  me  more  disgust 

199 


200    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

than  my  friendship  permits  me  to  express.  I  believe 
there  is  not  a  man  in  America — a  few  English  Tories 
excepted — that  would  not  spurn  the  thought  of  desert 
ing  a  noble  and  generous  friend  for  the  sake  of  a  treaty 
with  an  unjust  and  cruel  enemy.  Congress  will  never 
instruct  their  Commissioners  on  such  ignominious  terms; 
yet  if  it  were  possible  for  them  to  give  such  an  order  as 
this,  I  should  certainly  refuse  to  act.  I  should  in 
stantly  renounce  their  commission  and  banish  myself 
forever  from  so  infamous  a  country/' 

North  fell,  after  the  semi-pacific  vote  of  March  4th, 
1782.  Franklin,  through  Lord  Cholmondeley,  who  was 
returning  from  Nice  to  London,  and  at  his  request,  sent 
Shelburne  a  cordial,  dignified  note,  after  his  fashion. 
He  told  him  that  before  he  died  it  would  give  him  infinite 
pleasure  to  contribute  to  the  making  of  peace,  and  he 
thanked  him,  in  the  name  of  Madame  Helvetius,  for  the 
present  of  some  gooseberry-bushes  with  which  she  and 
her  friends  were  greatly  pleased.  Shelburne  answered: 
"  I  shall  be  glad  to  consult  with  you  about  the  means  of 
aiding  in  promoting  the  happiness  of  mankind.  It  is 
a  much  more  agreeable  subject  to  my  nature  than  the 
most  marvelous  plans  to  spread  misery  and  ruin."  And 
again  he  sent  over  an  Economist,  Richard  Oswald. 
Oswald  and  Adam  Smith  were  in  constant  communica 
tion  with  Vergennes.  Oswald  was  only  accredited  for 
American  affairs;  Thomas  Grenville  for  those  of  Europe. 
Franklin  kept  Vergennes  informed  of  everything. 

London  wished  to  establish,  as  a  point  of  departure, 
the  disastrous  treaty  of  1763.  The  very  mention  of  it 
gave  Vergennes  "a  chilly  sensation."  It  was  necessary 
to  begin  entirely  on  a  new  basis,  "  founded  upon  justice 
and  mutual  agreement."  Shelburne  had  the  same 
thought  and  his  ideas  had  acquired  full  authority  by 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE    201 

July,  1782,  when  he  became  Prime  Minister.  Hence 
forth  his  word  was  law.  Fox,  who  had  just  resigned, 
would  have  given  the  greatest  advantages  to  the  United 
States,  but  would  have  refused  everything  to  France,  in 
the  hope,  as  Franklin  perceived,  "to  embroil  us  with  our 
allies,  and  then,  having  to  deal  with  us  alone,  take  back 
little  by  little  that  which  they  had  given  us."  Shel- 
burne  thought  that  this  Machiavellian  way  of  manag 
ing  home  affairs  proceeded  from  an  exceedingly  short 
sighted  policy;  from  the  free  development  of  American 
forces,  from  the  commerce  with  America,  he  frankly 
expected  for  his  country  a  new  destiny,  a  new  expansion 
of  power,  "a  supremacy  of  a  new  kind." 

About  the  middle  of  August  another  emissary  went 
to  France  from  England ;  it  was  Admiral  de  Grasse.  He 
had  been  a  prisoner  too  much  spoiled,  too  sensitive  to 
the  flattery  of  our  adversary,  had  been  decried  in  France, 
but  was  afterward  half -pardoned,  and  finally  commis 
sioned  by  Shelburne  to  communicate  to  Vergennes  the 
views  of  the  English  Ministry;  they  were  practically  the 
same  as  our  own.  On  the  loth  of  September  Rayneval, 
the  brother  of  Gerard,  was  in  London.  He  stipulated 
for  America  independence  without  restriction ;  for  France 
some  advantages  which  we  will  find  in  the  treaty.  For 
Spain,  however,  the  agreement  was  more  difficult;  she 
wanted  Gibraltar. 

This  is  not  the  place  to  speak  of  the  trouble  that 
Spain  caused  us.  It  will  be  sufficient  to  indicate  that, 
in  order  to  obtain  from  England  the  unreasonable  satis 
faction  which  she  exacted  through  our  intercession, 
France  resolved  upon  serious  sacrifices.  But  it  was  the 
American  Commissioners  who  thought  of  putting  us  in 
a  false  position.  Franklin  must  be  absolved  from  all 
blame.  While  he  conducted  affairs,  he  held  to  the  great 


202    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

principle:  "Let  there  be  no  separate  peace!"  Un 
luckily,  from  the  first  days  of  July,  1782,  gout  confined 
him  to  his  arm-chair,  and  Jay  took  charge  of  things. 
Now  Jay,  although  he  had  formerly  professed  a  warm 
affection  for  us,  presented  the  phenomenon  of  one  of 
those  rapid  evolutions  which  is  called,  according  to  the 
point  of  view,  conversion  or  defection ;  he  was  a  colleague 
of  Oswald,  who  was  a  Whig  in  England  as  he  a  Whig  in 
America.  Becoming  frightened  by  the  idea  which  came 
near  duping  Congress  at  one  time,  "about  the  engage 
ments  which  riveted  America  to  France,"  he  passed  over 
to  the  English  side.  His  policy,  "strong  and  decided" 
as  he  called  it,  as  well  as  that  of  his  accomplice,  John 
Adams,  consisted  in  signing  the  preliminaries  of  peace 
with  England  without  consulting  or  giving  notice  to  the 
French  Minister. 

They  betrayed  their  mission  and  exposed  themselves 
11  to  the  execration  "  of  all  the  Colonial  Assemblies.  Even 
Massachusetts,  in  spite  of  Samuel  Adams,  asserted  that 
she  would  reject  "with  the  greatest  horror  any  propo 
sition  of  a  separate  agreement."  When,  on  the  I3th 
of  March,  Congress  learned  of  the  proceedings  of  John 
Adams  and  Jay,  its  members  were  most  indignant,  and 
our  Minister  Plenipotentiary,  De  la  Luzerne,  had  to 
interfere  to  prevent  trouble.  As  to  Vergennes,  he  did 
not  hide  his  surprise  from  Franklin:  "Are  you  not 
convinced  that  you  owe  something  to  the  King  of 
France?"  Franklin  could  reply  in  perfect  good  faith: 
"There  was  never  a  prince  more  beloved  in  his  own  realm 
than  is  the  King  of  France  by  all  the  people  of  America. 
.  .  .  And  there  is  no  one  who  feels  more  deeply  than 
I  do  what  every  American  owes  to  your  King." 

It  was  not  that  France  had  pretended  to  arrogate  to 
herself  the  privilege  of  giving  to  America  the  royal 


SOLDIERS  AND   SAILORS  OF   FRANCE    203 

present  of  her  independence;  better  and  more  highly 
inspired,  she  desired,  on  the  contrary,  that  the  United 
States,  a  sovereign  power,  would  establish  for  itself,  and 
alone,  its  national  statutes  with  England.  In  our  own 
negotiations  we  had  avoided  any  proceeding  that  would 
have  suspended  the  recognition  of  the  independence. 
In  denying  their  solidarity  with  the  French  Ministry, 
Jay  and  Adams  not  only  risked  French  interests  but 
they  offended  social  laws.  To  our  extreme  consideration 
they  returned  defection,  disloyalty.  Their  divergence, 
however,  brought  no  result.  The  Ministers  of  George 
III,  in  their  last  analysis,  did  not  draw  up  anything  de 
rogatory  to  us  from  this  premature  agreement.  And 
Vergennes  had  the  American  Commissioners  sign  a 
declaration  which  subordinated  their  articles  to  the  peace 
still  to  be  concluded  between  France  and  England. 
"We  hope,"  read  the  declaration,  "that  this  truth, 
made  known,  will  dissipate  all  the  suspicions  that  some 
persons  have  tried  to  cast  upon  a  young  Republic,  whose 
honor  and  interests  equally  demand  that  it  establish 
itself  in  public  opinion,  as  placing  above  everything 
else,  its  fidelity  and  constancy  to  its  engagements.'1 

The  secret  treaty  of  America  is  dated  November 
3Oth,  1782.  The  preliminaries  of  peace  were  signed  at 
Versailles,  January  2Oth,  1783,  between  England  and 
France.  Spain  was  given  Minorca  and  Florida.  The 
boundaries  of  our  Newfoundland  fisheries  were  re-made ; 
we  acquired  Saint-Pierre  and  Miquelon;  we  kept  Saint 
Lucia  and  Tabago;  we  gave  back  Grenada,  Domenica, 
and  Saint  Vincent.  In  Africa,  we  recovered  our  Senegal 
possessions,  lost  in  1763;  in  India,  some  unimportant 
districts;  and,  lastly,  there  was  no  longer  any  question 
of  an  English  Commissioner  at  Dunkerque  (Dunkirk). 

And  now  about  the  treaty  of  commerce.     Signed  in 


204    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

1786,  it  was  much  criticised  in  France.  It  was  very 
good  for  our  agricultural  interests,  deplorable  for  cer 
tain  of  our  industries,  encouraging  for  others.  We  will 
not  undertake  to  discuss  it  here.  One  thing  is  certain: 
the  American  war  greatly  changed,  in  the  way  of  free 
trade,  the  commercial  intercourse  of  the  world,  and  it 
caused  the  regeneration  of  our  islands.  Another  thing 
is  true:  France,  morally,  had  never  been  so  great. 
The  Citizen-King,  as  Vergennes  called  Louis  XVI,  whose 
citizen-soul  had  guided  him  into  giving  to  the  monarchy 
one  of  its  purest  glories,  had  done  good  work  for  the 
future. 

Shall  we  render  an  account  here  of  what  France  had 
done  for  America?  On  the  sea,  63  ships  of  the  line, 
3,668  cannon,  32,609  officers  and  sailors;  on  the  land, 
697  officers  and  11,983  soldiers,  an  expense  equal  to 
$50,000,000,  according  to  the  estimate  of  an  Ameri 
can,  Mr.  Randolph  Keim — the  balance-sheet  of  French 
liberality. 

As  imposing  as  it  may  be,  when  we  consider  the  cir 
cumstances  and  the  time,  how  feebly  this,  alone,  sym 
bolizes  the  valiant  and  efficient  confidence  which  our 
country,  the  country  of  ancient  traditions,  welcomed  in 
America  the  promise  of  a  new  humanity,  happier  and 
nobler  than  the  old  !  Simply  in  the  name  of  justice  and 
kindness,  France  loved  these  people  who  dared  to  under 
take  to  live  according  to  the  true  standard  of  humanity, 
and,  for  their  welcome  into  the  world,  she  covered  them 
with  the  prestige  of  her  ancient  honor. 

Our  ancestors  had  faith  in  liberty.  Upon  the  soil  of 
our  ancestors  made  sacred  by  their  secular  virtues  and 
endurance,  in  their  turn,  these  heirs  of  a  great  past 
wished  to  create  a  new  world.  It  was  a  noble  courage 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE    205 

and  a  bold  risk,  to  cast  off  the  chains  of  tradition  and 
throw  themselves  into  a  future  of  adventure.  Our 
friend  Doctor  Cooper  looked  upon  our  resolution  in  a 
different  light:  "Take  care,  young  men,"  he  said  at 
Boston,  in  1782,  in  the  midst  of  a  circle  of  French  officers, 
"take  care  that  the  triumph  of  the  cause  upon  this  vir 
gin  soil  does  not  incite  your  hopes  to  go  too  far;  after  so 
many  centuries  of  corruption,  you  will  have  to  surmount 
untold  difficulties ;  it  has  cost  us  much  bloodshed  to  gain 
our  liberty,  but  you  will  pour  out  torrents  before  you 
will  establish  it  in  your  Old  Europe." 

As  the  years  passed  by,  it  seemed  that  America 
had  decided  to  leave  France  and  Europe  a  prey  to  the 
witchcraft  of  the  past.  What  mattered  to  her  our  pain 
ful  memories,  our  ineffaceable  regrets,  our  just  resent 
ment?  She  had  grown  accustomed  to  our  complaints; 
she  saw  us  the  heirs  of  an  oppressive  inheritance,  de 
voured  by  rancor,  lost  in  disputes,  which,  periodically, 
set  the  nations  of  Europe  against  one  another.  She 
considered  the  Old  World  as,  fundamentally,  compro 
mised;  never  would  her  calm  and  brilliant  destiny  be 
troubled  by  our  affairs. 

To-day  America  has  discovered  a  higher  truth.  She 
feels  that  if  the  old  home-fire  of  thought  and  humane 
generosity  in  the  Old  World  is  extinguished,  the  light 
that  burns  on  the  new  continent  will  also  die  out.  She 
loves,  in  their  venerable  source,  the  old  things  eternally 
young,  nourishing,  and  life-giving.  She  discovers  an 
idealism  which  springs  from  the  sorrows  of  the  past  ages, 
and,  for  which  reason,  it  is  all  the  more  chivalrous  and 
courageous.  She  comes,  in  order  to  save  her  ideal,  to 
defend  with  us  the  fruit  of  long-suffering  humanity. 

Through  this  idealism  the  national  unity  of  the  United 
States  is  nourished  and  will  accomplish  its  destiny. 


206    SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE 

The  Americans  live,  not,  as  they  formerly  believed,  to 
enjoy  an  easy  bed  of  happiness  and  prosperity,  upon  a 
soil  that  is  inexhaustible;  but,  for  a  great  purpose — 
to  see  that  complete  justice  is  rendered  to  all  men  who 
have  inhabited  this  world  in  an  unhappy  state  for  so  long 
a  time. 

Americans  can  read  again  with  pride  the  letter  that 
Washington  wrote  to  La  Fayette  on  April  5th,  1783: 
"  Behold  us  now  in  the  rank  of  the  nations  of  the  earth, 
but  we  have  a  reputation  to  acquire.  Experience 
bought  at  the  price  of  trials  and  difficulties,  alone  con 
vinces  us  that  the  honor,  power  and  true  interests  of 
this  country  are  the  honor,  power  and  true  interests  of 
the  entire  continent,  and  that  any  separation  would 
break  the  bond  which  holds  us  together,"  and  cause  the 
destruction  of  the  ideal  in  the  name  of  which  the  colo 
nists  appealed  to  arms.  National  unity,  the  unity  of 
American  aspiration,  was  formerly  threatened  by  the 
eruption  of  disparaging  elements,  and  saw  only,  in  the  re 
public  that  Washington  had  made,  a  prodigious  financial 
market  with  an  immense  syndicate  of  material  interests 
to  exploit.  But  to-day,  for  the  salvation  of  her  honor, 
in  this  bloody  contention  into  which  she  has  thrown  her 
self  (the  World  War  begun  in  Europe  in  August,  1914), 
America  reconquers  her  original  soul — a  soul  closely 
allied  to  that  of  France.  Near  us  she  meets  England. 

When  the  mother  country  had  recognized  the  sover 
eignty  of  the  United  States,  her  statesmen  knew  how  to 
be  nobly  intelligent  enough  to  wish  a  great  destiny  to 
those  whom  they  no  longer  called  rebels,  but  brothers. 
They  thought  that  America's  greatness  and  England's 
greatness  should  be  identical ;  and  they  had  no  need  of  a 
mediator.  And  now,  to-day,  England  and  America  are 


SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  FRANCE    207 

drawn  close  to  each  other  in  the  land  of  France,  and  their 
blood  mingles  with  ours  to  drench  the  soil  where  sleep 
our  dead.  In  this  significant  event,  the  highest  order 
of  human  interest,  there  is  the  promise  of  a  great  future. 


APPENDIX 

FRANCE-AM£RIQUE 

The  society  called  Le  Comite  France- Amerique,  which  edits 
the  library  to  which  this  book  belongs,  was  founded  the  lat 
ter  part  of  the  year  1909  by  a  large  number  of  notable  per 
sons,  who  sent  forth  the  following  appeal,  which  is  a  resume 
of  the  object  of  the  association: 

The  Frenchmen  who  sign  this  appeal  have  just  founded  an 
institution  which  is  consecrated  to  an  urgent  work  of  closer 
connection  and  sympathy  between  France  and  the  American 
Nations;  it  is  called  Le  Comite  France-Amerique  (The  Franco- 
American  Committee). 

Le  Comite  France-Amerique  is  to  work  for  the  development 
of  the  economic,  intellectual,  and  artistic  relations  between 
the  nations  of  the  New  World  and  the  French  Nation;  to 
found  a  monthly  review  and  to  classify  therein  the  most 
complete  information  upon  the  economic  and  intellectual  life 
of  the  American  peoples;  to  attract  to  France  students  and 
tourists  from  the  two  Americas  and  give  them  a  cordial  wel 
come;  to  encourage  all  work  and  activity  which  will  make 
known  America  to  France,  or  France  to  America;  such  will 
be  the  direction  given  to  our  efforts. 

The  undersigned  appeal  to  those  in  France  who  interest 
themselves  in  the  Americas,  and  to  those  in  the  Americas 
who  interest  themselves  in  France,  for  co-operation  and 
active  devotion. 

This  association  was  welcomed  with  so  much  enthusiasm 
that,  as  early  as  1911,  the  number  of  its  active  and  honorary 
members  reached  one  thousand.  At  that  date,  after  being 
well  organized  in  France,  it  began  to  organize  corresponding 
Committees  in  America. 

209 


210  APPENDIX 

In  North  America  the  following  Committees  were  organized 
under  the  presidency  of:  At  Montreal,  the  Honorable  Raoul 
Dandurand,  Senator,  former  President  of  the  Federal  Senate; 
at  Quebec,  Mr.  Ferdinand  Roy;  at  New  Orleans,  the  Hon 
orable  Judge  Breaux,  former  President  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  Louisiana;  at  Los  Angeles,  Mr.  L.  W.  Brunswig;  at  San 
Diego,  Mr.  Eugene  Daney,  former  President  of  the  Cali 
fornia  Bar  Association;  at  Salt  Lake  City,  Major  Richard 
W.  Young,  etc.  The  society,  "The  Friends  of  France"  of 
San  Francisco,  is  also  affiliated  with  the  Comite  France- 
Amerique. 

The  France-America  Society  of  New  York  is  thus  consti 
tuted:  President:  Doctor  Nicholas  Murray  Butler,  President 
of  the  University  of  Columbia;  Vice-Presidents:  Frederic  R. 
Coudert,  Chauncey  M.  Depew,  William  D.  Guthrie,  Myron 
T.  Herrick;  Treasurer:  J.  Pierpont  Morgan;  Secretary: 
S.  Reading  Bertron;  President  of  the  Executive  Committee: 
F.  Cunliffe-Owen ;  Members  of  the  Board  of  Directors :  Robert 
Bacon,  Peter  T.  Barlow,  George  W.  Burleigh,  William  A. 
Clark,  Paul  Fuller,  Warren  L.  Green,  McDougall  Hawkes, 
A.  Barton  Hepburn,  E.  H.  Outerbridge,  George  Foster  Pea- 
body,  Edward  Robinson,  Henry  W.  Sackett,  Herbert  L.  Sat- 
terlee,  W.  K.  Vanderbilt,  Henry  Van  Dyke,  Whitney  Warren, 
Henry  White,  George  T.  Wilson. 

In  Latin  America  Committees  are  formed,  or  about  to  be 
formed,  at  Santiago,  in  Chili,  Sao  Paulo,  Buenos  Aires,  Mon 
tevideo,  La  Paz,  Bogota,  Costa  Rica,  etc.  The  Committee  of 
Sao  Paulo,  notably,  organized  in  1913  a  brilliant  Exposition 
of  French  Art,  of  which  the  Memorial  Section  has  served  to 
constitute  the  first  permanent  Museum  of  French  Art  in 
South  America. 

Besides  this,  in  France,  a  special  section,  called  Ligue  fran- 
qaise  de  propagande,  has  organized  a  service  of  information 
and  propaganda  in  America  in  regard  to  touring  in  France, 
instruction  in  the  French  language,  French  art,  and  the 
products  of  French  industry. 


APPENDIX  211 

Le  Comite  central  de  Paris,  which  has  its  social  centre  at 
21  rue  Cassette,  is  composed  of  an  Executive  Board,  Board  of 
Directors,  and  active  and  honorary  members.  The  Executive 
Board  of  France- Amerique  is  formed  at  present  of  the  fol 
lowing  personages: 

President  of  the  Comite:  M.  Gabriel  Hanotaux,  of  the 
French  Academy,  former  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs;  Presi 
dent  of  the  Ligue  franqaise  de  propagande  :  M.  Heurteau,  the 
delegate-general  of  the  Board  of  Administration  of  the  Com- 
pagnie  d' Orleans;  President  of  the  Section  France- Amerique 
latine:  M.  Francois  Carnot;  President  of  the  Section  France- 
Etats-Unis:  General  Brugere;  President  of  the  Section  France- 
Canada:  Viscount  R.  de  Caix  de  Saint-Aymour;  Honorary 
President  of  the  Ligue  franqaise  de  propagande:  M.  Georges 
Pallain,  Director  of  the  Bank  of  France;  President  of  the 
Commission  on  Instruction:  M.  Appell  of  the  Institut^  Dean  of 
the  Faculty  of  Sciences;  President  of  the  Commission  of  Fine 
Arts:  M.  Frafncois  Carnot,  President  of  the  League  of  Deco 
rative  Arts;  President  of  the  Commission  on  Industry  and 
Commerce:  M.  de  Ribes-Christofle,  Member-Treasurer  of  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce  of  Paris;  President  of  the  Commission 
on  Touring:  M.  Edmond  Chaix,  President  of  the  Commission 
on  Touring  of  the  Automobile  Club;  Treasurer:  Count  R.  de 
Vogue;  Director:  M.  G.  Louis-Jaray,  Member  of  the  Council 
of  State. 

The  Comite  has  been  publishing,  since  January  I,  1910,  a 
monthly  review,  France- Amerique,  which  is  the  property  of 
the  Comite,  with  its  supplementary  reviews:  France- Etats-Unis, 
France- Amerique  latine,  and  France-Canada.  This  review 
makes  a  study  of  the  life  of  the  American  Nations  in  all  their 
activities:  political,  national,  economical,  financial,  social,  in 
tellectual,  artistic,  etc.  It  publishes,  regularly,  articles  and 
reviews  from  the  best-known  and  most  able  writers.  It  is  a 
review  de  luxe,  which  has  about  one  hundred  pages  of  large 
size,  and  publishes,  each  month,  illustrations  and  maps,  besides 


212  APPENDIX 

the  text.  It  also  gives  a  complete  account  of  the  various 
activities  and  organizations  of  the  Comite. 

One  number  (France  and  foreign  countries):  2  francs,  50 
centimes  (50  cents). 

Yearly  subscription:  24  francs  (France);  $5.00  America;  26 
francs,  other  foreign  countries. 

France- Amirique  has  appeared  since  January,  1910;  each 
year  is  sent  postpaid  for  25  francs  ($5.00). 


LIBRAIRIE  FELIX  ALCAN 
BIBLIOTHEQUE  FRANCE-AM  ERIQUE 

Ilistoire  du  Canada,  par  F.-X.  Garneau.  Cinquieme  Edition,  revue,  an- 
notee  et  publiee  avec  un  avant-propos  par  son  petit-fils,  Hector  Gar 
neau.  Preface  de  M.  Gabriel  Hanotaux,  de  1'Academie  francaise,  presi 
dent  du  Comite  France-Amerique.  2  forts  volumes  in-8°.  Tome  premier 
(1534-1744).  Un  volume  in-8°  avec  portrait  de  1'Auteur.  1913.  10  fr. 
Tome  second.  Un  volume  in-8°  (sous  presse). 

Les  Promesses  de  la  Vie  americaine,  par  H.  Croly.  Traduit  de  1'anglais 
par  Firmin  Roz  et  Fenard,  introduction  par  Firmin  Roz.  Un  vol.  in-8°. 

1913-     3  fr-  50. 

Les  Etats-Unis  et  la  France,  par  E.  Boutroux,  P.-W.  Bartlett,  J.  M.  Bald 
win,  L.  Benedite,  W.  V.  R.  Berry,  d'Estournelles  de  Constant,  L.  Gillet, 
D.  J.  Hill,  J.  H.  Hyde,  Morton  Fullerton.  Un  vol.  in-8°,  avec  18  pi. 
hors  texte.  1914.  5  fr. 

La  France  et  la  Guerre.  Opinions  d'un  Americain,  par  James  Mark  Bald 
win.  Une  brochure  in-8°.  1915.  I  fr. 

Le  secours  americain  en  France  (American  Aid  in  France),  par  William  G. 
Sharp  et  Gabriel  Hanotaux.  Une  brochure  in-8°.  1915.  i  fr. 

Le  Devoir  des  Neutres,  par  Ruy  Barbosa.  Avant-propos:  La  Sentence  du 
Juge,  par  Graca  Aranha.  Traduit  du  portugais  par  Cardozo  de  Bethen- 
court.  Une  broch.  in-8°,  avec  une  planche  hors  texte.  2°  edit.  1917. 
2fr. 

Le  Chili  et  la  Guerre,  par  C.  Silva  Vild6sola,  ancien  directeur  du  Mercurio 
de  Santiago  du  Chili,  traduit  de  1'espagnol  par  Cardozo  de  Bethencourt, 
ancien  bibliothecaire  de  I'Academie  des  Sciences  de  Lisbonne.  Une 
brochure  in-8°.  1917.  I  fr.  80. 

L'Allemagne  et  VAmerique  latine.  Souvenirs  d'un  voyageur  naturaliste,  par 
Emile-R.  Wagner,  correspondant  du  Museum  de  Paris,  avec  preface 


APPENDIX  213 

de  M.  Edmond  Perrier,  membre  de  1'Institut,  directeur  du  Museum 
d'Histoire  naturelle.  I  vol.  in-8°,  avec  une  carte  hors  texte.  1918.  3  fr. 
50. 

L1 'Union  des  Etats-Unis  ei  de  la  Prance,  par  G.  Hanotaux,  de  1'Academie 
francaise,  president  du  Comite  France-Amerique  (texte  francais  et  texte 
anglais,  traduit  par  W.  Morton-Fullerton).  I  brochure  in-8.  1918.  I  fr. 
(net). 

La  Republique  de  Costa  Rica.  Son  avenir  economique  et  le  Canal  de  Panama, 
par  le  comte  Maurice  de  Perigny,  precede  d'une  preface  de  M.  Mar- 
tinenche,  Secretaire  general  du  Groupement  des  Universites  et  des 
Grandes  Ecoles  de  France  pour  les  relations  avec  I'Amerique  latine. 
i  vol.  in-8°  avec  10  pi.  et  une  carte  hors  texte.  1918.  5  fr. 

La  France  et  la  Guerre  de  V  Independance  Americaine  :  1776-1785,  par  le 
Carpitaine  Joachim  Merlant,  prof esseur-ad joint  a  la  Faculte  des  Lettres 
de  1'Universite  de  Montpellier.  i  volume  in-8°,  avec  6  planches  et  I 
carte  hors  texte.  1918.  3  fr.  50.  (Texte  francais  traduit  en  anglais 
par  Mary  Bushnell  Coleman.  1920). 

Pages  choisies  de  Jose  Enrique  Rodo,  avec  introduction  de  M.  Hugo  D.  Bar- 
bagelata.  I  vol.  in-8°,  avec  un  portrait  hors  texte.  3  fr.  50. 

Pages  choisies  de  Ruben  Dario,  avec  introduction  de  M.  Ventura  Garcia 
Calder6n.  i  vol.  in-8°,  avec  un  portrait  hors  texte.  3  fr.  50. 

La  Republique  Argentine  et  sa  vie  economique,  par  Georges  Lafond,  secre 
taire  g6neral  de  la  Chambre  argentine  de  Commerce  de  Paris,  i  vol. 
in-8°  (sous  presse). 


14  DAY  USE 

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